Gods and Demigods Read: The Lightning Thief
by TrueLoveIs4ever
Summary: The gods and goddesses of Olympus receive a set of five books. The Percy Jackson and the Olympians books. Read to see their reactions throughout the books, along with some guests... Everything in BOLD belongs to Rick Riordan!
1. Accidentally Vaporize PreAlgebra Teacher

A/N: I've noticed that there aren't many good ones of these Reading Percy Jackson fanfictions out there. So I'm going to try to finish the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. I hope that you like it, and leave reviews, please! I don't own Percy Jackson, by the way. And my author's notes are usually in bold, but since the story is half in bold and sometimes both italicized and bold, I'm just using underlined for now.

x.o.x.o.x.

As usual, the Goddess of Wisdom was in the Olympus library, scouring for a rare book that she hadn't read yet in her millennia of living. Athena is on the thirtieth shelf when she hears a tinkling noise. She turns to face the nearest table, where her acute hearing had picked up the sound. To the goddess's amazement, a light shimmers around the table, and a stack of five books appear. She walks over and scans the title of the top book.

"_The Lightning Thief_? That sounds interesting," she muses.

Then a note in neat cursive appears on top of the stack.

After reading the note very quickly, Athena scoops up the books in her arms and goes to find her father, the king of the gods, Zeus.

"Call a meeting, Father," Athena advises. "We must read these books.

Zeus looks at her. "Why should we take a stranger's words for this, Athena?"

"I have a feeling, Father," Athena answers.

Not even Zeus could deny that Athena's feelings were nearly always right. She wasn't the Goddess of Wisdom for nothing. "Oh, all right," he relents.

x.o.x.o.x.

Once ten Olympian gods are assembled in the throne room, Athena picks up the note.

The gods and goddesses present were Zeus, Poseidon, Athena, Demeter, Ares, Aphrodite, Hera, Apollo, Artemis, and Hephaestus. Hermes was being the messenger as usual and had many messages to hand out, and Dionysus was at Camp Half-Blood.

"These five books were sent by a stranger. It could be a demigod, a mortal, or a minor god. This note also appeared." Athena begins reading the note aloud.

_These five books follow five years in a demigod's life. I will not tell which demigod it is, or his/her Olympian parent. You do not need to read the books, but I would advise it. Enjoy them._

_~A friend_

"Shall we start, then?" Hera asks.

"Who would like to read first?" Athena says as an answer.

Apollo says, "Toss it to me, half-sis."

Athena, rolling her eyes along with Artemis, throws the book at her half-brother, who catches it.

**I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher**, reads Apollo.

"This sounds interesting," murmurs Ares.

"It would," mutters Aphrodite.

**Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood.**

The gods and goddesses shift uncomfortably.

**If you're reading this because you think you might be one, my advice is: close this book right now.**

Some gods and goddesses snort.

"We're not exactly half-bloods, are we?" Artemis says.

"I didn't know you had humor, little sis!" Apollo says in a jolly way.

Artemis glares. "Keep reading, little brother."

Apollo is about to argue, but warning glances from his fellow gods and goddesses make him read on.

**Believe whatever lie your mom or dad told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life.**

**Being a half-blood is dangerous. It's scary. Most of the time, it gets you killed in painful, nasty ways.**

**If you're a normal kid, reading this because you think it's fiction, great. Read on.**

"Mortals are reading this?" Hera asks curiously.

**I envy you for being able to believe that none of this ever happened.**

**But if you recognize yourself in these pages – if you feel something stirring inside – stop reading immediately. You might be one of us. And you that it's only a matter of time before **_**they**_** sense it too, and they'll come for you.**

"Are _they_ the monsters?" Ares asks.

"From Hades' realm? Probably," Zeus says, who had been quiet along with Demeter, Poseidon, and Hephaestus all this time.

**Don't say I didn't warn you.**

**My name is Percy Jackson.**

"This book is about the sea spawn?" an outraged Athena cries.

Somewhere below them in New York, they hear a loud wave crash violently against the shore. Everyone turns to look at Poseidon, who has rage in his eyes.

"Don't call my son that," he growls, and even Zeus flinches.

In order to avoid a big fight that would most likely cause a hurricane or tsunami to occur, Apollo hastily reads on.

**I'm twelve years old. Until a few months ago, I was a boarding student at Yancy Academy, a private school for troubled kids in upstate New York.**

**Am I a troubled kid? **

**Yeah. You could say that.**

"Even the sea spawn admits it," Athena mutters.

Poseidon hears her and sends another wave crashing below them, about to get up, but Zeus shoots a warning lightning bolt above his head.

"Sit down, brother," Zeus orders.

Angry, Poseidon obeys, still glaring at Athena.

**I could start at any point in my short miserable life to prove it, but things really started going bad last May, when our sixth-grade class took a field trip to Manhattan – twenty-eight mental-case kids and two teachers on a yellow school bus, heading to the Metropolitan Museum of Arts to look at ancient Greek and Roman stuff.**

**I know – it sounds like torture. Most Yancy field trips were.**

"How could it be torturous to be learning?" Athena wonders.

"No one is as smart as you, Athena," Demeter reminds her.

"Hey! I'm just as smart on love and beauty!" Aphrodite exclaims. "Right, Hephaestus?"

"Hmm? Oh yeah, darling," Hephaestus mutters.

Aphrodite, however, is triumphant.

**But Mr. Brunner, our Latin teacher, was leading this trip, so I had hopes.**

**Mr. Brunner was this middle-aged guy in a motorized wheelchair. He had thinning hair and a scruffy beard and a frayed tweed jacket, which always smelled like coffee.**

"Sounds like Chiron," observes Hera.

The others nod in agreement.

**You wouldn't think he'd be cool, but he told stories and jokes and let us play games in class. He also had this awesome collection of Roman armor and weapons, so he was the only teacher whose class didn't put me to sleep.**

"It's Chiron all right," Artemis clarifies.

Her twin brother continues reading.

**I hoped the trip would be okay. At least, I hoped that for once I wouldn't get in trouble.**

"The son of Poseidon, not get in trouble?" snorts Athena.

Ares laughs. "For once I agree with the O So Wise One."

Poseidon ignores them, waving Apollo on.

**Boy, was I wrong.**

**See, bad things happen to me on field trips. Like at my fifth-grade school, when we went to the Saratoga battlefield, I had this accident with a Revolutionary War cannon. I wasn't aiming for the school bus, but of course I got expelled anyway.**

"Of course he wasn't aiming for the bus," mutters Hephaestus.

**And before that, at my fourth-grade school, when we took a behind-the-scenes tour of the Marine World shark pool, I sort of hit the wrong lever on the catwalk and our class took an unplanned swim. And the time before that… Well, you get the idea.**

**This trip, I was determined to be good.**

**All the way into the city, I put up with Nancy Bobofit, the freckly, redheaded kleptomaniac girl, hitting my best friend Grover in the back of the head with chunks of peanut-butter-and-ketchup sandwich.**

"Isn't Grover a satyr?" Hera questions of her husband.

Zeus nods shortly.

"Peanut-butter-and-ketchup sandwich?" Apollo gives a shudder. "Those mortals and their food."

**Grover was an easy target. He was scrawny. He cried when he got frustrated. He must've been held back several grades, because he was the only sixth grader with acne and the start of a wispy beard on his chin. On top of all that, he was crippled. He had a note excusing him from PE for the rest of his life because he had some kind of muscular disease in his legs. He walked funny, like every step hurt him, but don't let that fool you. You should've seen him run when it was enchilada day in the cafeteria.**

**Anyway, Nancy Bobofit was throwing wads of sandwich that stuck in his curly brown hair, and she knew I couldn't do anything back to her because I was already on probation.**

"I would have drowned her already if Zeus hadn't made that stupid law," Poseidon growls.

Zeus shrugs. "It was for the best, brother."

Again hoping to stop a fight that would cause lightning storms to rage for gods-knows-how-long and waves to crash mercilessly onto the shores of New York and surrounding states, Apollo hurriedly reads on.

**The headmaster had threatened me with death by in-school suspension if anything bad, embarrassing, or even mildly entertaining happened on this trip.**

"I'm going to kill her," Poseidon mumbles.

Several gods shoot him warning glances.

Apollo, however, begins to laugh.

Poseidon switches on his glare on Apollo.

Cowering slightly, Apollo continues to chuckle.

"**I'm going to kill her," I mumbled.**

"Sea King and sea spawn think alike," taunts Athena.

However, the others, including Poseidon, are laughing so loudly they drown her out.

"JUST KEEP READING, APOLLO!" Athena yells.

It takes several tries, but finally the Olympians present calm down enough to allow Apollo to continue reading.

**Grover tried to calm me down. "It's okay. I like peanut butter."**

**He dodged another piece of Nancy's lunch.**

"**That's it." I started to get up, but Grover pulled me back to my seat.**

"**You're already on probation," he reminded me. "You know who'll get blamed if anything happens."**

**Looking back on it, I wish I'd decked Nancy Bobofit right then and there. In-school suspension would've been nothing compared to the mess I was about to get myself into.**

"Ooh, hopefully something dangerous and war-like," Ares says keenly.

As usual, the other Olympians ignore him.

**Mr. Brunner led the museum tour.**

**He rode up front in his wheelchair, guiding us through the big echoey galleries, past marble statues and glass cases full of really old black-and-orange pottery.**

**It blew my mind that this stuff had survived for two thousand, three thousand years.**

**He gathered us around a thirteen-foot-tall stone column with a big sphinx on the top, and started telling us how it was a grave marker, a **_**stele**_**, for a girl about our age. He told us about the carvings on the sides. I was trying to listen to what he had to say, because it was kind of interesting, but everybody around me was talking, and every time I told them to shut up, the other teacher chaperone, Mrs. Dodds, would give me the evil eye.**

"I think Hades mentioned Mrs. Dodds before. Isn't she his pride and joy?" Demeter reminds them.

"I think he did," muses Athena.

**Mrs. Dodds was this little math teacher from Georgia who always wore a black leather jacket, even though she was fifty years old.**

"If she does belong to Hades in the Underworld, she's more than fifty," mutters Artemis.

**She looked mean enough to ride a Harley right into your locker. She had come to Yancy halfway through the year, when our last math teacher had a nervous breakdown.**

**From her first day, Mrs. Dodds loved Nancy Bobofit and figured I was devil spawn.**

"Not devil spawn. Sea spawn," Athena mumbles.

Poseidon doesn't hear, to the relief of many of the other gods and goddesses.

**She would point her crooked finger at me and say, "No, honey," real sweet, and I knew I was going to get after-school detention for a month.**

**One time, after she'd made me erase answers out of old math workbooks until midnight, I told Grover I didn't think Mrs. Dodds was human. He looked at me, real serious, and said, "You're absolutely right."**

"If this satyr is supposed to be Poseidon's son's protector, he isn't doing a very good job. He's not supposed to blow the cover of the world of Greek 'myth', as the mortals call it," Hera says sternly.

**Mr. Brunner kept talking about Greek funeral art.**

**Finally, Nancy Bobofit snickered something about the naked guy on the stele, and I turned around and said, "Will you **_**shut up?**_**"**

**It came out louder than I meant it to.**

**The whole group laughed. Mr. Brunner stopped his story.**

"**Mr. Jackson," he said, "did you have a comment?"**

**My face was totally red. I said, "No, sir."**

**Mr. Brunner pointed to one of the pictures on the stele. "Perhaps you'll tell us what this picture represents?"**

**I looked at the carving, and felt a flush of relief, because I actually recognized it. "That's Kronos eating his kids, right?"**

The elder gods and goddesses have wrinkled noses.

"Why in Hades would they have a carving of _that_?" cries Zeus.

"**Yes," Mr. Brunner said, obviously not satisfied. "And he did this because…"**

"**Well…" I racked my brain to remember. "Kronos was the king god and—"**

"GOD?" roars Zeus, enraged. "That SCUM is not a GOD!"

"Calm down, husband," soothes Hera. "I'm sure Chiron will correct the mistake."

"**God?" Mr. Brunner asked.**

"See?" Hera says, obviously satisfied.

Zeus is still mad, and to back this up, thunder rolls outside and flashes of lightning are seen.

"**Titan," I corrected myself. "And… he didn't trust his kids, who were the gods. So, um, Kronos ate them, right? But his wife hid baby Zeus, and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead. And later, when Zeus grew up, he tricked his dad, Kronos, into barfing up his brothers and sisters–"**

"Because I'm awesome and brilliant," Zeus boasts.

"**Eeew!" said one of the girls behind me.**

"—**and so there was this big fight between the gods and the Titans," I continued, "and the gods won."**

It took even longer this time for Apollo to continue reading, because uproar had occurred. It was another celebration of the Olympians' victory over the Titans. But finally Apollo manages to continue reading.

**Some snickers from the group.**

"Hey! What's wrong with us winning?" Ares yells.

**Behind me, Nancy Bobofit mumbled to a friend, "Like we're going to use this in real life. Like it's going to say on our job applications, 'Please explain why Kronos ate his kids.'"**

"**And why, Mr. Jackson," Brunner said, "to paraphrase Miss Bobofit's excellent question, does this matter in real life?"**

"**Busted," Grover muttered.**

"**Shut up," Nancy hissed, her face even brighter red than her hair. **

**At least Nancy got packed, too. Mr. Brunner was the only one who ever caught her saying anything wrong. He had radar ears.**

"Of course he does! He's Chiron!" Apollo interrupts his own reading.

Artemis shoots him a look. "Keep reading, little brother."

"Hey!"

"Apollo, keep reading," Zeus orders.

Still growling at his sister, Apollo starts.

**I thought about his question, and shrugged. "I don't know, sir."**

"**I see." Mr. Brunner looked disappointed. "Well, half credit, Mr. Jackson. Zeus did indeed feed Kronos a mixture of mustard and wine, which made him disgorge his other five children, who, of course, being immortal gods, had been living and growing up completely undigested in the Titan's stomach. The gods defeated their father, sliced him to pieces with his own scythe, and scattered his remains in Tartarus, the darkest part of the Underworld. On that happy note, it's time for lunch. Mrs. Dodds, would you lead us back outside?"**

**The class drifted off, the girls holding their stomachs, the guys pushing each other around and acting like doofuses.**

**Grover and I were about to follow when Mr. Brunner said, "Mr. Jackson."**

The Olympians present lean forward.

**I knew that was coming.**

**I told Grover to keep going. Then I turned toward Mr. Brunner. "Sir?"**

**Mr. Brunner had this look that wouldn't let you go- intense brown eyes that could've been a thousand years old and had seen everything.**

"A thousand?" snorts Hephaestus.

"**You must learn the answer to my question," Mr. Brunner told me.**

"**About the Titans?"**

"**About real life. And how your studies apply to it."**

"**Oh."**

"**What you learn from me," he said, "is vitally important. I expect you to treat it as such. I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson."**

**I wanted to get angry, this guy pushed me so hard.**

"He should be pushing my son hard. Percy needs the best," Poseidon says.

"And Annabeth doesn't?" Athena shoots back.

"I never said that," Poseidon says calmly.

Athena glares.

**I mean, sure, it was cool on tournament days, when he dressed up in a suit of Roman armor and shouted: "What ho!" and challenged us, sword-point against chalk,**

"Sword-point against chalk?" Artemis asks, her eyebrows rising.

**to run to the board and name every Greek and Roman person who had ever lived,**

"Oh," mutters Artemis.

**and their mother, and what god they worshipped. But Mr. Brunner expected me to be as good as everybody else, despite the fact that I have dyslexia and attention deficit disorder**

"All half-bloods do," Athena says.

Before Poseidon could get angry, Zeus motions for Apollo to continue.

**and I had never made above a C- in my life. No– he didn't expect me to be **_**as good**_**; he expected me to be **_**better**_**. And I just couldn't learn all those names and facts, much less spell them correctly.**

**I mumbled something about trying harder, while Mr. Brunner took one long sad look at the stele, like he'd been at this girl's funeral.**

"Which he probably was," Demeter observes.

**He told me to go outside and eat my lunch.**

"Maybe we should get Hades and Persephone up here," suggests Hephaestus. "Hades would make all… well, all Hades break loose if he found out."

Zeus sighs and calls Hermes, telling him to go get the Lord of the Dead and his wife. Then Hermes could stay and listen.

Demeter was squealing to herself about seeing her daughter during the winter months, and without even looking, the others knew that flowers were blooming in the dead of winter.

Hades and Persephone were bickering the whole way to the throne room.

Once they stepped inside, however, Zeus yelled, "SILENCE!"

They obeyed immediately, though the looks on their faces said that they weren't too thrilled about it.

"Sit down," Zeus orders as two smaller thrones appeared.

"Brother, why don't I get a throne?" Hades exclaims.

Zeus rolled his eyes. "Shut up, Hades. Continue, Apollo."

Apollo cheerfully obeys his father, ignoring his father and uncle's short argument.

**The class gathered on the front steps of the museum, where we could watch the foot traffic along Fifth Avenue. **

**Overhead, a huge storm was brewing, with clouds blacker than I'd ever seen over the city.**

"What am I angry about?" Zeus wonders aloud as he strokes his master bolt lovingly.

Hera rolls her eyes. "Sometimes I swear that you love that bolt more than me."

**I figured maybe it was global warming or something, because the weather all across New York state had been weird since Christmas. We'd had massive snow storms, flooding, wildfires from lightning strikes. I wouldn't have been surprised if this was a hurricane blowing in.**

"Okay, I'm really angry," Zeus observes, still stroking his bolt.

This time more than Hera roll their eyes.

**Nobody else seemed to notice.**

"Mortals," scoffs Aphrodite, fixing her hair.

**Some the guys were pelting pigeons with Lunchables crackers.**

"Boys," sneers Artemis.

**Nancy Bobofit was trying to pickpocket something from a lady's purse and, of course, Mrs. Dodds wasn't seeing a thing.**

"Mrs. Dodds?" Hades questions.

"Yep," Ares says. "Some monster from your realm, we're guessing."

"Yes… quite. One of my beloved Kindly Ones," Hades answers.

Persephone shudders. "I hate those things."

"Persephone, come here, darling," Demeter coos.

Grinning, Persephone gets off her tiny throne and walks to her mother's.

**Grover and I sat on the edge of the fountain, away from the others. We thought that maybe if we did that, everybody wouldn't know we were from **_**that**_** school– the school for loser freaks who couldn't make it elsewhere.**

"**Detention?" Grover asked.**

"**Nah," I said. "Not from Brunner. I just wish he'd lay off me sometimes. I mean– I'm not a genius."**

"Poor dear," murmurs Persephone from beside Demeter, who looked overjoyed to have her daughter back.

Poseidon looks at her, and then away.

**Grover didn't say anything for a while. Then, when I thought he was going to give me some deep philosophical comment to make me feel better, he said, "Can I have your apple?"**

Stunned silence is present in the throne room of Mount Olympus.

Then the gods and goddesses burst out laughing.

"Satyrs," chokes Apollo, then continues reading.

**I didn't have much of an appetite, so I let him take it.**

**I watched the stream of cabs going down Fifth Avenue, and thought about my mom's apartment, only a little ways uptown from where we sat. I hadn't seen her since Christmas. I wanted so bad to jump in a taxi and head home. She'd hug me and be glad to see me, but she'd be disappointed, too.**

"Mommy's boy," teases Ares.

Moments later, though, he is doused head to foot in ice-cold water.

Spitting some out, Ares glares at Poseidon. "What was that for, Fish Face?"

"Making fun of my son," Poseidon says calmly. Then he adds dryly, "Taking a page out of Athena's book, I see."

Athena glares at both of them, about to retort, but Zeus waves Apollo on.

**She'd send me right back to Yancy, remind me that I had to try harder, even though this was my sixth school in six years and I was probably going to get kicked out again.**

"Poor dear," Aphrodite says, echoing Persephone's words.

**I wouldn't be able to stand that sad look she'd give me.**

"Mama's boy," mutters Ares under his breath.

Poseidon glares at him threateningly.

**Mr. Brunner parked his wheelchair at the base of the handicapped ramp. He ate celery while he read a paperback novel. A red umbrella stuck up from the back of his chair, making it look like a motorized café table.**

The gods and goddesses chuckle lightly.

**I was about to unwrap my sandwich when Nancy Bobofit appeared in front of me with her ugly friends – I guess she'd gotten tired of stealing from the tourists – and dumped her half-eaten lunch in Grover's lap.**

"And… there she goes! Setting off O Holy One, Son of Poseidon," Apollo says with grandeur.

The others look at him as if he had gone mad.

Clearing his throat loudly, Apollo continues as the other gods and goddesses remove their weirded out glances from him, one-by-one and slowly.

"**Oops." She grinned at me with her crooked teeth. Her freckles were orange, as if somebody had spray-painted her face with liquid Cheetos.**

"EEW!" squeals Aphrodite, her nose scrunched up. "Even _I_ couldn't fix that mess!"

**I tried to stay cool.**

"Won't work," Ares mutters.

**The school counselor had told me a million times, "Count to ten, get control of your temper."**

"Not gonna happen," murmurs Hephaestus.

**But I was so mad my mind went blank. A wave roared in my ears.**

"POSEIDON! YOU BROKE THE OATH?" Hades yelled.

His two brothers exchanged looks. "Oops," mutters Poseidon. None of the Olympians had bothered to tell Hades whose child Percy was.

"AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO KEPT MY WORD?" Hades screams.

"Kind of ironic," Persephone whispers to her mother before making her way to her husband. "Calm down, Lord Hades. It cannot be helped. It has already happened." She rests a calming, cool hand on his shoulder.

Hades glares at his two brothers, his look murderous and his breaths coming fast. But he calms down and allows his wife to drag him back to his tiny throne.

Apollo quickly continues to read.

**I don't remember touching her, but the next thing I knew, Nancy was sitting on her butt in the fountain, screaming, "Percy pushed me!"**

The Olympians, minus Hades (still seething), Athena (who had no empathy for the sea spawn), Ares (who had no empathy for anyone, just the occasional splash for his own children), and Zeus (who barely ever had feelings), growl.

**Mrs. Dodds materialized next to us.**

"Great," whispers Hera.

**Some of the kids were whispering: "Did you see-"**

"—**the water-"**

"—**like it grabbed her-"**

**I didn't know what they were talking about. All I knew was that I was in trouble again.**

**As soon as Mrs. Dodds was sure poor little Nancy was okay, promising to get her a new shirt at the museum gift shop, etc., etc., Mrs. Dodds turned on me. There was a triumphant fire in her eyes, as if I'd done something she'd been waiting for all semester. "Now, honey-"**

"She's still using the honey?" Artemis cries.

"That's creepy," adds Aphrodite.

"**I know," I grumbled. "A month erasing workbooks."**

Hermes, who had been silent to this point, cries, "NO! DON'T GUESS THE PUNISHMENT!"

After nodding violently in agreement, Apollo continues to read.

**That wasn't the right thing to stay.**

"No Styx, Sherlock," Apollo says, before catching his uncle's murderous look and continuing to read hastily.

"**Come with me," Mrs. Dodds said.**

"**Wait!" Grover yelped. "It was me. **_**I**_** pushed her."**

"What a good friend," coos Aphrodite.

**I stared at him, stunned. I couldn't believe he was trying to cover for me. Mrs. Dodds scared Grover to death.**

**She glared at him so hard his whiskery chin trembled.**

"**I don't think so, Mr. Underwood," she said.**

"**But-"**

"**You—**_**will**_**—stay—here."**

**Grover looked at me desperately.**

"**It's okay, man," I told him. "Thanks for trying."**

"**Honey," Mrs. Dodds barked at me. "**_**Now**_**."**

"Can it with the honey!" yells Persephone.

**Nancy Bobofit smirked.**

Poseidon looked murderously at the book.

**I gave her my deluxe I'll-kill-you-later stare.**

"YES! WAR!" shouts Ares.

**Then I turned to face Mrs. Dodds, but she wasn't there. She was standing at the museum entrance, way at the top of the steps, gesturing impatiently at me to come on.**

**How'd she get there so fast?**

"My Kindly Ones are fast," Hades says proudly.

**I have moments like that a lot, when my brain falls asleep or something, and the next thing I know I've missed something, as if a puzzle piece fell out of the universe and left me staring at the blank place behind it.**

"Odd way of describing things," observes Zeus.

**The school counselor told me this was part of the ADHD, my brain misinterpreting things.**

**I wasn't so sure.**

**I went after Mrs. Dodds.**

**Halfway up the steps, I glanced back at Grover. He was looking pale, cutting his eyes between me and Mr. Brunner, like he wanted Mr. Brunner to notice what was going on, but Mr. Brunner was absorbed in his novel.**

"Novel to Tartarus!" explodes Poseidon. "My son is in _danger_, and Chiron READS?"

**I looked back up. Mrs. Dodds had disappeared again. She was now inside the building, at the end of the entrance hall.**

"Don't follow her, dear," Hera says worriedly, drawing odd looks.

Being the Goddess of Marriage and all, she never liked demigods.

Hera waves them off, gesturing to Apollo to continue.

**Okay, I thought. She's going to make me buy a new shirt for Nancy at the gift shop.**

"Afraid not, little Percy," Hermes jokes.

**But apparently that wasn't the plan.**

**I followed her deeper into the museum. When I finally caught up to her, we were back in the Greek and Roman section.**

**Except for us, the gallery was empty.**

"No," mutters Poseidon, his head lowering.

**Mrs. Dodds stood with her arms crossed in front of a big marble frieze of the Greek gods. She was making this weird noise in her throat, like growling.**

**Even without the noise, I would've been nervous. It's weird being alone with a teacher, especially Mrs. Dodds. Something about the way she looked at the frieze, as if she wanted to pulverize it…**

"She probably did," Hephaestus says bitterly.

"**You've been giving us problems, honey," she said.**

**I did the safe thing. I said, 'Yes, ma'am."**

**She tugged on the cuffs of her leather jacket. "Did you really think you would get away with it?"**

**The look in her eyes was beyond mad. It was evil.**

**She's a teacher, I thought nervously. It's not like she's going to hurt me.**

"Yes she will," Persephone says sadly, glaring at her husband with fierce dislike.

**I said, "I'll – I'll try harder, ma'am."**

**Thunder shook the building.**

"Me!" Zeus says brightly.

Again odd looks were drawn.

It seemed like many of those were being distributed today, doesn't it?

"**We are not fools, Percy Jackson," Mrs. Dodds said. "It was only a matter of time before we found you out. Confess, and you will suffer less pain."**

Poseidon was gripping his throne so hard, his knuckles were white. His eyes were glaring daggers at his brother.

**I didn't know what she was talking about.**

**All I could think of was that the teachers must've found the illegal stash of candy I'd been selling out of my dorm room.**

Apollo interrupts his own reading with guffaws, then continues reading after mutters of: CANDY! I like this boy.

**Or maybe they'd realized I got my essay on **_**Tom Sawyer **_**from the Internet without ever reading the book and now they were going to take away my grade. Or worse, they were going to make me read the book.**

"What's wrong with reading?" Athena cries, offended.

Seeing Poseidon about to retort, Apollo quickly begins reading.

"**Well?" she demanded.**

"**Ma'am, I don't…"**

"**Your time is up," she hissed.**

Poseidon's face drained of color, but his eyes continued shooting death at Hades, who was feigning interest in his buttons.

**Then the weirdest thing happened. Her eyes began to glow like barbecue coals. Her fingers stretched, turning into talons. Her jacket melted into large, leathery wings. She wasn't human. She was a shriveled hag with bat wings and claws and a mouth full of yellow fangs and she was about to slice me to ribbons.**

"HADES, IF YOUR KINDLY ONE HURTS MY SON, I SWEAR ON THE RIVER STYX I WILL NOT HESITATE TO SEND YOU TO THE DARKEST CORNERS OF TARTARUS!" Poseidon yells, and Hades cowers. None of the Olympians had ever seen Poseidon this angry before.

**Then things got even stranger.**

**Mr. Brunner, who'd been out in front of the museum a minute before, wheeled his chair into the doorway of the gallery, holding a pen in his hand.**

"**What ho, Percy!" he shouted, and tossed the pen through the air.**

**Mrs. Dodds lunged.**

The Olympians leaned forward, eager to hear what happens. Poseidon was still pale.

**With a yelp, I dodged and felt talons slash the air next to my ear.**

Poseidon growls angrily, about to get up to attack Hades, but Demeter pulls him back into his throne, murmuring soothingly, "Percy isn't hurt."

**I snatched the ballpoint pen out of the air, but when it hit my hand, it wasn't a pen anymore. It was a sword- Mr. Brunner's bronze sword, which he always used on tournament day.**

**Mrs. Dodds spun toward me with a murderous look in her eyes.**

Making caramel popcorn and coffee appear, Ares kicks back in his throne. "This is a nice show," he mutters to himself.

Apollo, seeing the others' weird looks, turns back to the page.

**My knees were jelly. My hands were shaking so bad I almost dropped the sword.**

"Wimp," sighs Ares.

The only thing restraining Poseidon from attacking Ares was that he wanted to find out if Percy got out alive or not.

**She snarled, "Die, honey!"**

"Still using the honey? Lord Hades, your Kindly Ones are strange," Artemis says to him.

**And she flew straight at me.**

**Absolute terror ran through my body. Ii did the only thing that came naturally: I swung the sword.**

"Naturally? He's twelve! Twelve-year-olds swing swords naturally?" cries Demeter.

**The metal blade hit her shoulder and passed clean through her body as if she were made of water. **_**Hisss!**_

Olympus is surrounded by stunned silence.

"He just defeated a Kindly One on his first try," mutters Persephone.

"He hasn't even been trained yet," adds Demeter.

"That is very impressive," Athena says grudgingly.

"He is a strong one," Zeus murmurs.

Hades looked murderous. "Your son just killed my Kindly One!" he accuses Poseidon.

But his brother simply rolls his eyes. Poseidon was just relieved his son was alive… for now. "It's just going to come back anyway."

**Mrs. Dodds was a sand castle in a power fan. She exploded into yellow powder, vaporized on the spot, leaving nothing but the smell of sulfur and a dying screech and a chill of evil in the air, as if those two glowing red eyes were still watching me.**

"They better not be," Poseidon warns Hades.

**I was alone.**

**There was a ballpoint pen in my hand.**

**Mr. Brunner wasn't there. Nobody was there but me.**

**My hands were still trembling. My lunch must've been contaminated with magic mushrooms or something.**

"Magic mushrooms?" Athena sneers.

**Had I imagined the whole thing?**

**I went back outside.**

**It had started to rain.**

**Grover was sitting by the fountain, a museum map tented over his head. Nancy Bobofit was still standing there, soaked from her swim in the fountain, grumbling to her ugly friends. When she saw me, she said, "I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your butt."**

"The Mist," Zeus muses.

**I said, "Who?"**

"**Our **_**teacher**_**. Duh!"**

"The Mist works very well," adds Artemis.

**I blinked. We had no teacher named Mrs. Kerr. I asked Nancy what she was talking about.**

**She just rolled her eyes and turned away.**

**I asked Grover where Mrs. Dodds was.**

**He said, "Who?"**

**But he paused first, and he wouldn't look at me, so I thought he was messing with me.**

"Someone needs to teach that satyr how to lie," Hera says to no one in particular, but Hermes, who agreed, spoke.

"I'll speak to Dionysus about that."

"**Not funny, man," I told him. "This is serious."**

**Thunder boomed overhead.**

"Again, me!" Zeus cheers.

"You act like a child," Hera informs him.

Thunder booms outside and a brilliant flash of lightning is seen as Zeus glares at his wife.

Hera shrugs.

**I saw Mr. Brunner sitting under his red umbrella, reading his book, as if he'd never moved.**

**I went over to him.**

**He looked up, a little distracted. "Ah, that would be my pen. Please bring your own writing utensil in the future, Mr. Jackson."**

"Chiron, on the other hand, lies perfectly well," Hermes says in satisfaction.

**I handed Mr. Brunner his pen. I hadn't even realized I was still holding it. **

"**Sir," I said, "where's Mrs. Dodds?"**

**He stared at me blankly. "Who?"**

"Chiron _really_ knows how to lie!" cheers Hermes.

"**The other chaperone. Mrs. Dodds. The pre-algebra teacher."**

**He frowned and sat forward, looking mildly concerned. "Percy, there is no Mrs. Dodds on this trip. As far as I know, there has never been a Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy. Are you feeling all right?"**

Apollo closes the book. "That's the end of the chapter."

"That's one interesting demigod life," says Hera.

"Very," agrees Apollo.

"Who's going to read next?" Zeus asks, looking around at the Olympians.

"I will!" Persephone says eagerly, and Apollo tosses her the book.

"We'll continue tomorrow. It's getting late," Hera says. "Go to bed."

They obey, Poseidon deep in thought about the pain he had put his son through. He felt deep remorse for Percy, but not just for Percy. He felt remorse for Sally as well.

x.o.x.o.x.

A/N: Done with chapter one! I hope you liked it! This is by far the longest chapter I've ever written, but I'm sure longer chapters will be up! This is almost twenty-four pages and a little over 6000 words. Leave my some reviews, please! They mean a lot to me, they do! And until the next chapter…

~TrueLoveIs4ever


	2. The Socks of Death

A/N: THIS TAKES PLACE AFTER THEY KNOW WHO PERCY JACKSON'S OLYMPIAN PARENT IS, BUT DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE LIGHTNING BOLT AND ALL THAT! I usually reply to reviews in the next chapter of my stories, but for this story I'll be replying by PM, which you could have already found out. Thank you to EVERYONE who put me on author alert, story alert, and marked this as a favorite! I love you all! Enjoy!

x.o.x.o.x.

The next morning after breakfast, the Olympians sit down in the throne room to read more of Percy Jackson.

**Three Old Ladies Knit the Socks of Death**, Persephone reads.

"Ooh," Apollo squeals, sounding like a girl.

Artemis slaps the back of his head… hard. "Shut up, Apollo."

Apollo glares at her. "That hurt," he whines.

"Deal with it." Artemis mutters under her breath, "Stupid boys. Why did I have to have a boy twin?"

**I was used to the occasional weird experience,**

"We can see that," mutters Hades.

Persephone glares at him before reading.

**but usually they were over quickly. This twenty-four/seven hallucination was more than I could handle.**

"The poor dear! I must think of a little love triangle or something to help him cheer up!" Aphrodite says, already plotting in her mind.

"Don't mess in my son's love life," warns Poseidon.

Aphrodite pauses in her plotting to pout. "But Poseidon!"

Poseidon ignores her and tells Persephone to keep reading.

**For the rest of the school year, the entire campus seemed to be playing some kind of trick on me. The students acted as if they were completely and totally convinced that Mrs. Kerr – a perky blond woman whom I'd never seen in my life until she got on our bus at the end of the field trip – had been our pre-algebra teacher since Christmas.**

"The Mist," Hephaestus tells the book.

"Stop talking to a book, Hephaestus," mutters Ares.

**Every so often I would spring a Mrs. Dodds reference on somebody, just to see if I could trip them up, but they would stare at me like I was psycho.**

"Of course he's psycho! I mean, he's the spawn of Barnacle Breath here," Athena says.

Before Poseidon can douse her with icier water than he had used on Ares, Zeus tells him, "_Sit down_, Poseidon. It is just the Mist!"

**It got so I almost believed them – Mrs. Dodds had never existed.**

"Key word- _almost_," points out Apollo.

Artemis stares at him in shock.

"What?"

"You actually said something intelligent!" she cries.

"Hey!"

**Almost.**

**But Grover couldn't fool me.**

"Someone _really_ needs to teach that satyr to lie. Maybe Dionysus should have a lying class for the satyrs," Demeter muses.

**When I mentioned the name Dodds to him, he would hesitate, then claim she didn't exist. But I knew he was lying.**

**Something was going on. Something **_**had**_** happened at the museum.**

**I didn't have much time to think about it during the days, but at night, visions of Mrs. Dodds with talons and leathery wings would wake me up in a cold sweat.**

Poseidon was gripping his trident very hard and shooting daggers with his eyes at Hades.

**The freak weather continued, which didn't help my mood.**

"Wow, I'm really angry," murmurs Zeus to himself.

**One night, a thunderstorm blew out the windows in my dorm room.**

Poseidon grips his trident harder and switches his death glare to Zeus.

**A few days later, the biggest tornado ever spotted in the Hudson Valley touched down only fifty miles from Yancy Academy. One of the current events we studied in social studies class was the unusual number of small planes that had gone down in squalls in the Atlantic that year.**

"Well, I'm mad too," Poseidon observes, but doesn't let up on his death glare that is switching between both his brothers.

**I started feeling cranky and irritable most of the time.**

"He really needs to have a spiced-up love life," Aphrodite murmurs.

Poseidon adds her to his death glare.

**My grades slipped from Ds to Fs.**

"Well, it's clear he will never be a child of mine," Athena mutters. "Ds! Fs!"

Poseidon glares at her as well.

**I got into more fights with Nancy Bobofit and her friends.**

"WOOO! WAR!" Ares cheers.

**I was sent out into the hallway in almost every class.**

"Poor dear," Persephone says again, interrupting herself.

**Finally, when our English teacher, Mr. Nicoll, asked me for the millionth time why I was too lazy to study for spelling tests, I snapped.**

"Ooh, war," Ares says eagerly.

**I called him an old sot.**

Laughter rings around Mount Olympus.

"I love this kid!" Hermes yells over his own laughter.

"Cheeky!" Apollo agrees.

Athena turns up her nose, but she can't stop a small smile from making its way onto her lips.

**I wasn't even sure what it meant, but it sounded good.**

"It _is_ good, kid!" Hermes yells.

Seeing Athena about to spout some fact about what it meant, Zeus said, "Go on, Persephone."

**The headmaster sent my mom a letter the following week, making it official: I would not be invited back next year to Yancy Academy.**

**Fine, I told myself. Just fine.**

**I was homesick.**

"Mama's boy," mutters Ares.

Again he was doused in cold water, but Poseidon didn't even cast a glance his way.

**I wanted to be with my mom in our little apartment on the Upper East Side, even if I had to go to public school and put up with my obnoxious stepfather and his stupid poker parties.**

Poseidon was trembling with anger.

**And yet… there were things I'd miss at Yancy. The view of the woods out my dorm window, the Hudson River in the distance, the smell of pine trees. I'd miss Grover, who'd been a good friend, even if he was a little strange. I worried how he'd survive next year without me.**

"He cares so much about his friends!" coos Hera.

"He's such a good boy, but he should eat some cereal," Demeter says firmly.

Hoping to avoid odd looks at her mother, Persephone quickly reads on.

**I'd miss Latin classes, too – Mr. Brunner's crazy tournament days and his faith that I could do well.**

**As exam week got closer, Latin was the only test I studied for.**

"WHAT? How could he only study for ONE TEST?" yells Athena, angry.

Poseidon looked about ready to kill.

**I hadn't forgotten what Mr. Brunner had told me about this subject being life-and-death for me. I wasn't sure why, but I'd started to believe him.**

"Good!" Hera cries.

**The evening before my final, I got so frustrated I threw the **_**Cambridge Guide to Greek Mythology **_**across my dorm room.**

"NO! RESPECT THE BOOKS!" shrieks Athena.

"MYTHOLOGY? WE ARE NOT MYTHOLOGY!" Zeus thunders… literally.

**Words had started swimming off the page, circling my head, the letters doing one-eighties as if they were riding skateboards. There was no way I was going to remember the difference between Chiron and Charon, or Polydictes and Polydeuces. And conjugating those Latin verbs? Forget it.**

**I paced the room, feeling like ants were crawling around inside my shirt.**

"EEEEEEEEEWWWWW!" squeals Aphrodite.

After Persephone removes her hands from her ears, she continues reading.

**I remembered Mr. Brunner's serious expression, his thousand-year-old eyes. **_**I will only accept the best from you, Percy Jackson.**_

**I took a deep breath. I picked up the mythology book.**

**I'd never asked a teacher for help before. Maybe if I talked to Mr. Brunner, he could give me some pointers. At least I could apologize for the big fat F I was about to score on his exam. I didn't want to leave Yancy Academy with him thinking I hadn't tried.**

"Such a sweet boy," coos Hera.

Artemis crosses her arms. Maybe the boy was okay, but he was a _boy_.

**I walked downstairs to the faculty offices. Most of them were dark and empty, but Mr. Brunner's door was ajar, light from his window stretching across the hallway floor.**

**I was three steps from the door handle when I heard voices inside the office.**

"Ooh, the kid's going to eavesdrop!" Hermes exclaims excitedly.

**Mr. Brunner asked a question. A voice that was definitely Grover's said "… worried about Percy, sir."**

"Best friend talking to the teacher!" Apollo squeals.

**I froze.**

"Good. Don't blow your cover," Hermes advises.

**I'm not usually an eavesdropper,**

"HA! The son of Poseidon not an eavesdropper?" scoffs Athena.

**but I dare you to try not listening if you hear your best friend talking about you to an adult.**

"No one would be able to do that dare," mutters Zeus. "It's physically impossible."

"But Zeus, you would be able to do that dare! You don't _have_ a best friend!" Hera says sweetly.

"HERA!" Zeus explodes, thunder and lightning occurring outside.

Hera simply smiles very sweetly and innocently.

**I inched closer.**

"Be careful, kid!" Hermes warns.

"… **alone this summer," Grover was saying. "I mean, a Kindly One in the **_**school**_**! Now that we know for sure, and **_**they**_** know too –"**

"What are they talking about?" Ares wonders.

"**We would only make matters worse by rushing him," Mr. Brunner said. "We need the boy to mature more."**

Athena's brain was working furiously, so she didn't comment.

"**But he may not have time. The summer solstice deadline –"**

"What summer solstice deadline?" Artemis questions.

No one could answer. They had only known about Percy Jackson, not about the rest of the story.

"**Will have to be resolved without him, Grover. Let him enjoy his ignorance while he still can."**

"**Sir, he **_**saw**_** her…"**

"The Kindly One?" Athena guesses.

"**His imagination," Mr. Brunner insisted. "The Mist over the students and staff will be enough to convince him of that."**

"**Sir, I… I can't fail in my duties again." Grover's voice was choked with emotion. "You know what that would mean."**

Zeus was gripping his throne almost as hard as Poseidon had been gripping his trident. Last time that particular satyr failed…

"**You haven't failed, Grover," Mr. Brunner said kindly. "I should have seen her for what she was. Now let's just worry about keeping Percy alive until next fall –"**

"Very comforting," snorts Hephaestus.

**The mythology book dropped out of my hand and hit the floor with a thud.**

"NOOOOO!" wails Hermes. "YOU BLEW YOUR COVER!"

"Hermes! Silence!" Zeus hisses.

**Mr. Brunner went silent.**

"Uh oh," murmurs Apollo.

**My heart hammering, I picked up the book and backed down the hall.**

"Yes! Beat a quick retreat!" Hermes cheers.

**A shadow slid across the lighted glass of Brunner's office door, the shadow of something much taller than my wheelchair-bound teacher, holding something that looked suspiciously like an archer's bow.**

"I wish he would be more careful! Sure, he could use the Mist, but some mortals can see through it…" worries Hera.

Poseidon's thoughts immediately go to Sally. She could see through the Mist.

**I opened the nearest door and slipped inside.**

**A few seconds later I hear a slow **_**clop-clop-clop**_**, like muffled wood blocks, then a sound like an animal snuffling right outside my door. A large, dark shape paused in front of the glass, then moved on.**

**A bead of sweat trickled down my neck.**

**Somewhere in the hallway, Mr. Brunner spoke. "Nothing," he murmured. "My nerves haven't been right since the winter solstice."**

"YAY! HE GOT AWAY!" Hermes squeals gleefully.

"You act like a little girl who just met Justin Bieber," mutters Artemis.

"What happened at the winter solstice?" wonders Athena.

"**Mine neither," Grover said. "But I could have sworn…"**

"No! Don't rat out your best friend, Grover!" whines Apollo.

"**Go back to the dorm," Mr. Brunner told him. "You've got a long day of exams tomorrow."**

"**Don't remind me."**

**The lights went out in Mr. Brunner's office.**

**I waited in the dark for what seemed like forever.**

**Finally, I slipped out into the hallway and made my way back up to the dorm.**

**Grover was lying on his bed, studying his Latin exam notes like he'd been there all night.**

"**Hey," he said, bleary-eyed. "You going to be ready for this test?"**

**I didn't answer.**

"**You look awful."**

"Tactful," mutters Aphrodite. Maybe the satyr needed a female one to help…

**He frowned. "Is everything okay?"**

"**Just… tired."**

**I turned so he couldn't read my expression, and started getting ready for bed.**

"Satyrs can read emotions too," Athena informs the book.

**I didn't understand what I'd heard downstairs. **

"None of us do," Ares mutters.

**I wanted to believe I'd imagined the whole thing.**

"Ah, the bliss of ignorance," Hephaestus sighs.

**But one thing was clear: Grover and Mr. Brunner were talking about me behind my back.**

"I hope he doesn't take it the wrong way," Hera frets.

**They thought I was in some kind of danger.**

"He's a child of the Big Three. Of course he would be," sighs Athena.

**The next afternoon, as I was leaving the three-hour Latin exam,**

"THREE HOURS?" Apollo and Hermes yell in unison.

"That's torture!" Hephaestus agrees.

"It's for educational purposes!" argues Athena.

"Would you like to be sitting a three-hour exam- _while you were mortal_?" Persephone questions her.

Athena shifts uncomfortably. "Now, that's out of the-"

"Oh, just shut up," Poseidon says irritably. "Go on, Persephone, please."

**my eyes swimming with all the Greek and Roman names I'd misspelled, Mr. Brunner called me back inside.**

"Oh, I wonder what will happen," Artemis says.

**For a moment, I was worried he'd found out about my eavesdropping the night before, but that didn't seem to be the problem.**

"**Percy," he said. "Don't be discouraged about leaving Yancy. It's… it's for the best."**

"Chiron! How could he be so tactless? The boy has a high risk of going through a lot soon, and you say that?" Hera cries.

"Maybe Chiron needs a female to help as well…" muses Aphrodite.

**His tone was kind, but the words still embarrassed me. Even though he was speaking quietly, the other kids finishing the test could hear.**

"Again, tactless!" chides Hera.

**Nancy Bobofit smirked at me and made sarcastic little kissing motions with her lips.**

Poseidon grasped his trident angrily.

"Calm down, brother," Zeus orders.

**I mumbled, "Okay, sir."**

"**I mean…" Mr. Brunner wheeled his chair back and forth, like he wasn't sure what to say. "This isn't the right place for you. It wa only a matter of time.**

"He's going to take that the wrong way," guesses Aphrodite.

**My eyes stung.**

"Wimp," sing-songs Ares, and is rewarded with another icy cold shower.

**Here was my favorite teacher, in front of the class, telling me I couldn't handle it. After saying he believed in me all year, now he was telling me I was destined to get kicked out.**

"I knew it," Aphrodite murmurs. "Poor dear." Her mind was again at work on Percy's love life.

Guessing as much, Poseidon glares at her. "Don't meddle in his life, Aphrodite."

Aphrodite just shrugs innocently and smiles at him sweetly.

"**Right," I said, trembling.**

"Again, wimp," Ares said.

Poseidon ignores him.

"**No, no," Mr. Brunner said. "Oh, confound it all. What I'm trying to say… you're not normal, Percy. That's nothing to be –"**

"Now he goes for tact?" Hera snorts.

"He's still going to take it the wrong way," Demeter answers.

"**Thanks," I blurted. "Thanks a lot, sir, for reminding me."**

"See? The poor boy needs a lot of cereal," Demeter sighs.

"**Percy –"**

**But I was already gone.**

"Hermes, after this, go tell Dionysus to teach Chiron about tact," Hera calls to Hermes.

**On the last day of the term, I shoved my clothes into my suitcase.**

**The other guys were joking around, talking about their vacation plans. One of them was going on a hiking trip to Switzerland. Another was cruising the Caribbean for a month.**

"I'll make sure to somehow wreck that boat," mutters Poseidon.

**They were juvenile delinquents, like me, but they were **_**rich**_** juvenile delinquents. Their daddies were executives, or ambassadors, or celebrities.**

"But they're not gods!" sings Apollo cheerfully.

**I was a nobody, from a family of nobodies.**

Zeus snorts. "Nobodies? Boy, your uncle is the King of the Gods!"

**They asked me what I'd be doing this summer and I told them I was going back to the city.**

"Not a good idea," Hermes says.

**What I didn't tell them was that I'd have to get a summer job walking dogs or selling magazine subscriptions, and spend my free time worrying about where I'd go to school in the fall.**

"Poseidon, make sure the boy gets plenty of cereal," Demeter advises.

"**Oh," one of the guys said. "That's cool."**

**They went back to their conversation as if I'd never existed.**

"Poor boy," murmurs Aphrodite again.

**The only person I dreaded saying good-bye to was Grover, but as it turned out, I didn't have to. He'd booked a ticket to Manhattan on the same Greyhound as I had, so there we were, together again, heading into the city.**

"Coincidence? I think not," mutters Hera.

**During the whole bus ride, Grover kept glancing nervously down the aisle, watching the other passengers. It occurred to me that he'd always acted nervous and fidgety when we left Yancy, as if he expected something bad to happen.**

"He has good reason to," Demeter comments.

**Before, I'd always assumed he was worried about getting teased. **

"Percy may be loyal to his friends, but that doesn't seem too kind," remarks Apollo.

**But there was nobody to tease him on the Greyhound.**

**Finally, I couldn't stand it anymore.**

Zeus (yes, ZEUS!) groans. "This won't be good."

**I said, "Looking for Kindly Ones?"**

"Poor Grover! He'll get a heart attack!" Persephone cries after reading this line.

"He needs some love!" declares Aphrodite.

**Grover nearly jumped out of his seat. "Wha – what do you mean?"**

"See?" Persephone asks.

"Keep reading, Persephone," Zeus reminds her.

Persephone obeys her father.

**I confessed about eavesdropping on him and Mr. Brunner the night before the exam.**

"NO!" shouts Hermes.

"NOT THE CONFESSION!" squeals Apollo.

Artemis slaps Apollo upside the head while Athena does the same to Hermes. Once they resume their seats, Persephone continues.

**Grover's eye twitched.**

"Not a good sign," Hades mutters.

Everyone's eyes turn to him. Hoping to avert a long argument featuring her husband, Persephone hurriedly lowers her eyes to the page.

"**How much did you hear?"**

"**Oh… not much. What's the summer solstice deadline?"**

"Grover cannot lie," Hermes reminds them all.

"WE KNOW, HERMES!" the Olympians yell.

**He winced. "Look, Percy… I was just worried for you, see? I mean, hallucinating about demon math teachers…"**

"**Grover-"**

"**And I was telling Mr. Brunner that maybe you were overstressed or something, because there was no such person as Mrs. Dodds, and…"**

"**Grover, you're a really, really bad liar."**

"Finally the sea spawn catches on?" Athena asks. "About time!"

Poseidon barely spares her a glare.

"Quiet, Athena!" Zeus admonishes his daughter. "Go on, Persephone."

**His ears turned pink.**

**From his shirt pocket, he fished out a grubby business card. "Just take this, okay? In case you need me this summer."**

**The card was in fancy script, which was murder on my dyslexic eyes, but I finally made out something like:**

**Grover Underwood**

**Keeper**

**Half-Blood Hill**

**Long Island, New York**

**(800)009-0009**

"Talk to Dionysus about the cards, will you?" Zeus yells to Hermes. "Tell him that he'll change the fancy script to plain printing or else he'll get another century at the camp!"

"Right you are, Father!" Hermes shouts back.

"**What's Half-"**

"**Don't say it aloud!" he yelped. "That's my, um… summer address."**

"Not exactly a lie, but he hesitated. Not a good thing," Apollo announces.

**My heart sank. Grover had a summer home. I'd never considered that his family might be as rich as the others at Yancy.**

"Poor dear," Aphrodite mumbles. That statement seemed to be used quite a lot on Olympus lately.

"**Okay," I said glumly. "So, like, if I want to come visit your mansion."**

**He nodded. "Or… or if you need me."**

"**Why would I need you?"**

"Percy, that was unnecessary," Hera scolds the book. "He's just doing his job!"

Persephone, after her own odd look at her stepmother, opens her mouth.

**It came out harsher than I meant it to.**

"It would," sighs Aphrodite.

**Grover blushed right down to his Adam's apple. "Look, Percy, the truth is, I-I kind of have to protect you."**

**I stared at him.**

**All year long, I'd gotten into fights, keeping bullies away from him. I'd lost sleep worrying that he'd get beaten up next year without me.**

"Such a caring boy. Must have eaten a lot of cereal," Demeter says loudly.

**And here he was acting like he was the one who defended **_**me**_**.**

"**Grover," I said, "what exactly are you protecting me from?"**

**There was a huge grinding noise under our feet. Black smoke poured from the dashboard and the whole bus filled with a smell like rotten eggs. The driver cursed and limped the Greyhound over to the side of the highway.**

"That smell sounds nasty," mutters Aphrodite, always the perfect one.

**After a few minutes clanking around in the engine compartment, the driver announced that we'd all have to get off. Grover and I filed outside with everybody else.**

**We were on a stretch of country road- no place you'd notice if you didn't break down there. On our side of the highway was nothing but maple trees and litter from passing cars. On the other side, across four lines of asphalt shimmering with afternoon heat, was an old-fashioned fruit stand.**

**The stuff on the sale looked really good: heaping boxes of bloodred cherries and apples, walnuts and apricots, jugs of cider in a claw-foot tub full of ice. There were no customers, just three old ladies sitting in rocking chairs in the shade of a maple tree, knitting the biggest pair of socks I'd ever seen.**

Persephone pauses her reading and shoots a glance at her husband. Hades looks back at her. "Fates?" she mouths.

Hades nods once.

Zeus, along with the other Olympians, watches this exchange in bafflement. "Go on, daughter," he prods.

**I mean these socks were the size of sweaters, but they were clearly socks. The lady on the right knitted one of them. The lady on the left knitted the other. The lady in the middle held an enormous basket of electric-blue yarn.**

**All three women looked ancient, with pale faces wrinkled like fruit leather, silver hair tied back in white bandannas, bony arms sticking out of bleached cotton dresses.**

Athena whips to face the Lord of the Underworld and the Queen of the Underworld. "Fates?" she asks.

They both nod.

Poseidon pales.

**The weirdest thing was, they seemed to be looking right at me.**

Poseidon pales further.

**I looked over at Grover to say something about this and saw that the blood had drained from his face. His nose was twitching.**

"**Grover?" I said. "Hey, man-"**

"**Tell me they're not looking at you. They are, aren't they?"**

"Grover loves trying to persuade himself otherwise," observes Demeter. "Dionysus must feed him some cereal!"

"SHUT IT ABOUT THE CEREAL!" yells Hades, having enough of his sister/mother-in-law's rants about cereal.

"**Yeah. Weird, huh? You think those socks would fit me?"**

"He jokes _now_?" cries Athena.

"**Not funny, Percy. Not funny at all."**

**The old lady in the middle took out a huge pair of scissors- gold and silver, long-bladed, like shears. I heard Grover catch his breath.**

Poseidon grips his trident so hard, the other Olympians wince, afraid that it would snap in half.

"**We're getting on the bus," he told me. "Come on."**

"**What?" I said. "It's a thousand degrees in there."**

"Just get on the bus," growls Poseidon. "Listen to the satyr!"

"**Come on!" He pried open the door and climbed inside, but I stayed back.**

"Go!" cries Hera and Artemis at once.

"Then when you get home, go eat cereal!" Demeter adds.

**Across the road, the old ladies were still watching me. The middle one cut the yarn,**

This caused uproar. Poseidon was twirling his trident, as if wondering which Olympian to administer its wrath on. The other gods and goddesses, except Zeus, were on their feet, worrying for the safety of the one of the only demigods that Hera had ever supported.

"SILENCE!" roars Zeus, over the din. To help his point, thunder rumbles loudly outside, shaking the throne room, and lightning flashes, lighting up the room.

Finally, the throne room falls silent and Persephone continues.

**and I swear I could hear the **_**snip**_** across four lines of traffic. Her two friends balled up the electric-blue socks, leaving me wondering who they could possibly be for- Sasquatch or Godzilla.**

Hermes and Apollo burst out laughing, but Artemis looks disgusted.

"He's joking now? That could have been his thread! Boys!" Artemis says in annoyance, rolling her eyes.

**At the rear of the bus, the driver wrenched a big chunk of smoking metal out of the engine compartment. The bus shuddered, and the engine roared back to life.**

"Good. Now get back on the bus!" Hera yells exasperatedly.

**The passengers cheered.**

"**Darn right!" yelled the driver. He slapped the bus with his hat. "Everybody back on board!"**

"Maybe now he'll listen," mutters Ares. "Stupid stubborn sea spawn."

**Once we got going, I started feeling feverish, as if I'd caught the flu.**

**Grover didn't look much better. He was shivering and his teeth were chattering.**

"**Grover?"**

"**Yeah?"**

"**What are you not telling me?"**

**He dabbed his forehead with his shirt sleeve. "Percy, what did you see back at the fruit stand?"**

"**You mean the old ladies? What is it about them, man? They're not like… Mrs. Dodds, are they?"**

"They've got one thing in common: they're residents of the Underworld," Athena says.

**His expression was hard to read, but I got the feeling that the fruit-stand ladies were something much, much worse than Mrs. Dodds. He said, "Just tell me what you saw."**

"**The middle one took out her scissors, and she cut the yarn."**

**He closed his eyes and made a gesture with his fingers that might've been crossing himself, but it wasn't. It was something else, something almost- older.**

**He said, "You saw her snip the cord."**

"**Yeah. So?" But even as I said it, I knew it was a big deal. **

"**This is not happening," Grover mumbled. He started chewing at his thumb. "I don't want this to be like the last time."**

"**What last time?"**

Hearing this, Zeus pales almost to the same shade as Poseidon had been. If it was what he thought it meant…

"**Always sixth grade. They never get past sixth."**

"**Grover," I said, because he was really starting to scare me. "What are you talking about?"**

"**Let me walk you home from the bus station. Promise me."**

"Smart satyr," murmurs Hera.

"Listen to him, son. Let him walk you home," mutters Poseidon under his breath, concern flashing in his sea-green eyes.

**This seemed like a strange request to me, but I promised he could.**

"Thank the gods," Poseidon says aloud.

"**Is this like a superstition or something?"**

"More than a superstition," Persephone tells the book sadly.

**No answer.**

"**Grover- that snipping of the yarn. Does that mean somebody is going to die?"**

Athena was astonished. She was amazed that an offspring of Poseidon could be so smart and perceptive. "How did he know?"

**He looked at me mournfully, like he was already picking the kind of flowers I'd like best on my coffin.**

After reading this sentence, Persephone closes the book and sets it down in her lap. "That's the end of the chapter."

"I hope that kid's brain gets to work faster in future chapters," grumbles Athena.

Poseidon glares at her. "Quit insulting my son's brain, Athena. He's plenty smart."

"I agree with Poseidon," Hera says. "He guessed about the thread when he hasn't even learned anything about Greek gods and goddesses except in class. Without discovering that he is a demigod, a child of an Olympian or other god or goddess. That's pretty impressive."

The others murmur their agreement while Athena looks peeved. "Does Amphitrite know about him?" she shoots venomously at Poseidon.

"No," Poseidon answers slowly. "But I've sired many demigods over the millennia, Athena. As have the other gods and goddesses except Artemis."

Hera shoots a glance at her husband. "Especially Zeus." Her voice is full of contempt. "Being the Goddess of Marriage, of course I despise every demigod that walks the planet. But Poseidon's current demigod son has promise. I like his personality."

"And that's saying something from the queen," Artemis teases lightly. "And of course I don't have any demigod children or immortal children! I am the goddess of maidens! Aphrodite, however, is the complete opposite."

Seeing Aphrodite about to retort, Zeus says commandingly, "Do not retort, Aphrodite. All of you, sit down. Who would like to read next?"

Hera turns to her stepdaughter/niece. "Persephone, give me the book please."

Persephone obliges, passing the book to her stepmother.

The Queen of the Gods flips open to chapter three.

x.o.x.o.x.

A/N: There goes another chapter! I hope you enjoyed it! Next up is Hera reading! It's a first for her to support a demigod or demigoddess, right? :D I know it's been a little while since I've updated, but these chapters are long. Also, I'm updating my stories on a cycle. So there should be about the same amount of days between each chapter, unless I go on vacation or something comes up. Leave me some reviews! I love you all!


	3. Grover Unexpectedly Loses His Pants

A/N: Well, I'm back! It wasn't a _very_ speedy update, but it was better than when I neglected one of my stories for almost three months. I was away at Virginia Beach for the weekend, and had no time to update! I'm sorry!

x.o.x.o.x.

**Grover Unexpectedly Loses His Pants**, the Queen of the Gods reads.

Apollo and Hermes share a glance and then nearly fall off their thrones laughing.

Zeus shocks them, Poseidon douses them, and Hades snaps, "Shut up," with one of his special death glares.

Slightly scared of their father and uncles, Apollo and Hermes obey as Hera, shooting them glares she reserved especially for them (wow, what an honor), continues.

**Confession time: I ditched Grover as soon as we got to the bus terminal.**

Poseidon groans. "Son, that was unnecessary."

"Yeah, well, sea spawn seems to be taking after his father. Neither of them has anything in their heads except for kelp," Athena says snidely.

Poseidon glares at his niece, but before he could get further than that, Hera quickly reads.

**I know, I know. It was rude.**

"Rude? Not to mention dangerous!" Artemis scolds the book. "He's your best friend and protector!"

**But Grover was freaking me out, looking at me like I was a dead man,**

"If that thread was yours, than you are," Hades informs the book.

Persephone glares at her husband. "Stop worrying Uncle Poseidon, my lord."

**muttering, "Why does this always happen?" and "Why does it always have to be sixth grade?"**

"I don't know why that satyr is still allowed to search. He _failed_ his first mission," Zeus hisses.

**Whenever he got upset, Grover's bladder acted up,so I wasn't surprised when, as soon as we got off the bus, he made me promise to wait for him, then made a beeline for the restroom. Instead of waiting, I got my suitcase, slipped outside, and caught the first taxi uptown.**

"**East One-hundred-and-fourth and First," I told the driver.**

**A word about my mother, before you meet her.**

At the mention of Sally, Poseidon's eyes glazed over, and Aphrodite, noticing this, smirks to herself.

**Her name is Sally Jackson and she's the best person in the world,**

"She is," murmurs Poseidon.

Zeus and Hades shoot him a warning look, but the goddesses (minus Athena and Artemis) coo.

**which just proves my theory that the best people have the rottenest luck.**

Now Poseidon looks sad.

**Her own parents died in a plane crash when she was five,**

At this, Poseidon glares pointedly at Zeus, who begins whistling a tune from the fifteen-hundreds and looking anywhere but at his brother.

**and she was raised by an uncle who didn't care much about her. She wanted to be a novelist,**

"A very good career path," Athena approves.

**so she spent high school working to save enough money for a college with a good creative-writing program.**

"How did she fall for _you_, Kelp-Head?" Athena questions Poseidon. She had already decided to bless this Sally Jackson. She sounded like a good person.

Poseidon simply shrugged, smiling.

**Then her uncle got cancer, and she had to quit school her senior year to take care of him.**

"That's so sweet," coos Demeter. "This is one who ate enough cereal."

"SHUT UP ABOUT THE CEREAL ALREADY!" Hades yells.

**After he died, she was left with no money, no family, and no diploma.**

"Athena, you should give her your blessing," Artemis suggests to her half-sister.

Athena nods. "I will be, Artemis." She turns to Poseidon. "I honestly don't know why she fell for you. She sounds like a smart woman."

"She is," Poseidon answers wistfully.

**The only good break she ever got was meeting my dad.**

"That's SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sweet!" squeals Aphrodite, breaking about a dozen windows.

**I don't have any memories of him, just this sort of warm glow, maybe the barest trace of his smile.**

"YOU VISITED YOUR DEMIGOD SON?" yells Zeus, outraged.

"I actually _care_ about my demigod child, Zeus," Poseidon says calmly, smiling at the memory.

Zeus growls. "I saved my daughter from death! You think I don't care for Thalia?"

"QUIET!" orders Hera, and once her husband and brother fall silent, she continues.

**My mom doesn't like to talk about him because it makes her sad.**

Poseidon looked sad as well.

**See, they weren't married.**

"Of course they weren't," growls Zeus.

**She told me he was rich and important, and their relationship was a secret.**

"Rich? Important? I'm not too sure about those, Uncle P," Apollo teases, and is rewarded by a shower of icy cold salt water.

**Then one day, he set sail across the Atlantic on some important journey, and he never came back.**

"Important journey? More like taking care of his kingdom," mumbles Zeus angrily.

**Lost at sea, my mom told me. Not dead. Lost at sea.**

"See, she's smart. It wasn't the full truth, but she wasn't lying to her son either," Athena proclaims.

"He _is_ the sea, not _lost_ at sea," Persephone remarks.

Hera opens her mouth to continue.

**She worked odd jobs, took night classes to get her high school diploma, and raised me on her own. She never complained or got mad. Not even once. But I knew I wasn't an easy kid.**

"Of course he isn't. He's a sea spawn," Athena says.

**Finally, she married Gabe Ugliano, who was nice the first thirty seconds we knew him, then showed his true colors as a world-class jerk.**

Poseidon was growling.

**When I was young, I nicknamed him Smelly Gabe.**

Apollo and Hermes both burst out laughing, loving the name wholeheartedly.

**I'm sorry, but it's the truth. The guy reeked like moldy garlic pizza wrapped in gym shorts.**

"EWWWWWWWWWWWW!" squeals Aphrodite, succeeding in shattering a few more windows. "Even _I_ couldn't fix that!"

The other goddesses didn't even glance twice at her, they were having the same reaction in their heads. Even a few gods were turning green.

**Between the two of us, we made my mom's life pretty hard. The way Smelly Gabe treated her, the way he and I got along… well, when I came home is a good example.**

"If he touches a single _hair on your head_, I swear that he will be sent to the depths of Tartarus to visit permanently with our dear father," Poseidon threatens.

**I walked into our little apartment, hoping my mom would be home from work. **

**Instead, Smelly Gabe was in the living room, playing poker with his buddies.**

"He had buddies?" sneers Ares.

**The television blared ESPN. **

"SPORTS!" cheers Apollo, earning him a slap upside the head courtesy of his twin sister.

**Chips and beer cans were strewn all over the carpet.**

The goddesses' noses were now wrinkled.

"What a _pig_," voices Persephone.

**Hardly looking up, he said around his cigar, "So, you're home."**

"Pleasant," mutters Hephaestus.

"**Where's my mom?"**

"**Working," he said. "You got any cash?"**

"He just asked his twelve-year-old stepson for _cash_?" explodes Artemis. "MEN!"

"That's just sick," Aphrodite murmurs.

"No welcome back? Or good to see you? Or how has your life been for the last six months?" Poseidon erupts.

Hera chuckles softly and Poseidon turns his glare on her.

As an excuse for her chuckling, Hera continues to read.

**That was it. No **_**Welcome back. Good to see you. How has your life been the last six months?**_

The gods burst out laughing as Poseidon simply grins.

"Like father, like son," Hermes yells happily.

**Gabe had put on weight.**

"How is that possible?" quips Apollo.

**He looked like a tuskless walrus in thrift-store clothes.**

Aphrodite had a wrinkled nose. "That's terrible! Mortals these days! They all need makeovers!" she cries dramatically.

**He had about three hairs on his head, all combed over his bald scalp, as if that made him handsome or something.**

"As if! Nothing could _ever_ make that pig look handsome," Persephone spits.

**He managed the Electronics Mega-Mart in Queens, but he stayed home most of the time.**

"Even we gods aren't that lazy!" yells Apollo.

**I don't know why he hadn't been fired long before.**

"Because they were afraid that his fat self would break down the doorframe as he walked out and lead to the whole mart collapsing," Hermes informs them.

**He just kept on collecting paychecks, spending the money on cigars that made me nauseous, and on beer, of course.**

"Of course? Dionysus would say that he wasn't worthy of alcohol," Apollo says.

**Always beer. Whenever I was home, he expected me to provide his gambling funds.**

Poseidon grips his throne's armrest with his left hand so hard that his knuckles were turning almost as pale white as Hades was, and his right was grasping his trident in a death hold. The trident looked as if it were about to snap in half.

**He called that our "guy secret". Meaning, if I told my mom, he would punch my lights out.**

"THAT- THAT- THAT-!" yells Poseidon, and the throne room shook.

"**I don't have any cash," I told him.**

**He raised a greasy eyebrow.**

**Gabe could sniff out money like a bloodhound, which was surprising, since his own smell should've covered up everything else.**

While the others were laughing themselves silly at this (yes, even Zeus and Hades), Athena's mind goes into overdrive. The pig's smell was being mentioned too often. Could it be?

"**You took a taxi from the bus station," he said. "Probably paid with a twenty. Got six, seven bucks in change. Somebody expects to live under this roof, he ought to carry his own weight. Am I right, Eddie?"**

"Carry his own weight? At least he's capable of doing that. You're so heavy you couldn't carry _your_ own weight," growls Hera before continuing.

**Eddie, the super of the apartment building, looked at me with a twinge of sympathy.**

"Only a twinge?" Poseidon exclaims, outraged.

"**Come on, Gabe," he said. "The kid just got here."**

"He has some decency," mutters Demeter. "But with some cereal and farming, he'd be good as new!"

"**Am I **_**right**_**?" Gabe repeated.**

"NO!" the entire council shouts in unison.

**Eddie scowled into his bowl of pretzels. The other two guys passed gas in harmony.**

"Disgusting," spits Athena.

"**Fine," I said. I dug a wad of dollars out of my pocket and threw the money on the table. "I hope you lose."**

"SO DO I!" squeals Apollo.

"**Your report card came, brain boy!" he shouted after me. "I wouldn't act so snooty!"**

"I wonder what _his_ report card looked like," mutters Poseidon darkly.

**I slammed the door to my room, which really wasn't my room. During school months, it was Gabe's "study".**

"He doesn't even have his own _room_?" yells Persephone. "Uncle Poseidon, why didn't you _do_ anything? That's just _wrong_!"

"Trust me, Persephone, I would have, if it weren't for your father," Poseidon assures her while sending a glare at his brother.

"We've been over this, brother. It's for the best," Zeus sighs.

Poseidon just keeps glaring at him.

"Does that pig even read?" Athena asks in a repulsed voice.

No one had an answer to that.

**He didn't study anything in there except old car magazines,**

"See?" Athena cries in both triumph and exasperation.

**but he loved shoving my stuff in the closet, leaving his muddy boots on my windowsill, and doing his best to make the place smell like his nasty cologne and cigars and stale beer.**

While the goddesses pulled faces, led by Aphrodite of course, Poseidon was growling and making death threats under his breath.

**I dropped my suitcase on the bed. Home sweet home.**

"Sweet alright. Poor child," whispers Persephone.

**Gabe's smell was almost worse than the nightmare about Mrs. Dodds, or the sound of that old fruit lady's shears snipping the yarn.**

"That must be terrible," Hera interrupts herself, and as the other Olympians plus Hades and Persephone nod in agreement, Athena and Poseidon's brains are now both working.

Athena is _positive_ that Sally had married Gabe for that reason.

Poseidon is beginning to suspect that, and he shoots a glance at Athena. Understanding his silent question, she nods slightly. A look of understanding passes to each other, and then they are back to their fighting glares.

**But as soon as I thought that, my legs felt weak.**

"Wimp," Ares mutters. It seemed to be becoming his favorite word.

And Poseidon's hobby was turning out to be dousing his relatives in half the Arctic Ocean.

**I remembered Grover's look of panic – how he'd made me promise I wouldn't go home without him. A sudden chill rolled through me. I felt like someone – something – was looking for me right now, maybe pounding its way up the stairs, growing long, horrible talons.**

"Knowing what my son's got for uncles, that is highly possible- no, it's probable," Poseidon announces.

Zeus and Hades both shoot him glares, but he shrugs.

"It's true, isn't it?"

The Olympians and Persephone avoid eye contact while they nod.

**Then I heard my mom's voice. "Percy?"**

**She opened the bedroom door, and my fears melted.**

"Mommy's baby," taunts Ares, and is treated to a shower of a portion of the freezing cold Arctic Ocean.

**My mother can make me feel good just by walking into the room.**

"Aw, isn't that cute?" Aphrodite exclaims.

"They definitely have a better relationship than we did to our parents," Demeter claims.

**Her eyes sparkle and change color in the light.**

Remembering this, Poseidon smiles a wistful smile, and Aphrodite can feel love rolling off him. It isn't as strong as she had felt years ago, when they had just met, but it was still there.

**Her smile is as warm as a quilt. She's got a few gray streaks mixed in with her long brown hair, but I never think of her as old. When she looks at me, it's like she's seeing all the good things about me, none of the bad. I've never heard her voice or say an unkind word to anyone, not even me or Gabe.**

"For the latter, that must be a challenge," Athena declares. She liked this woman more and more by the sentence.

"**Oh, Percy." She hugged me tight. "I can't believe it. You've grown since Christmas!"**

"It must be sad for her to only see him during breaks," Demeter says knowingly, shooting a pointed glare at Hades.

**Her red-white-and-blue Sweet on America uniform smelled like all the best things in the world: chocolate, licorice, and all the other stuff she sold at the candy shop in Grand Central. **

Hermes and Apollo had begun to drool as their eyelids droop, obviously dreaming of candy.

To prove this point, Apollo moans, "Candy…"

Artemis rolls her eyes.

**She'd brought me a huge bag of "free samples", the way she always did when I came home.**

At this, Hermes snaps out of his daze and wails, "PERCY! YOU HAVE TO SHARE!"

"Are you sure they're thousands of years old?" Artemis asks her father.

Zeus shrugs. "I would suggest that they are imposters, but Hermes and Apollo truly do act like that."

**We sat together on the edge of the bed. While I attacked the blueberry sour strings, she ran her hand through me hair and demanded to know everything I hadn't put in my letters. She didn't mention anything about my getting expelled. **

"She probably expected it," Athena points out.

**She didn't seem to care about that. But was I okay? Was her little boy doing all right?**

"Aside from nearly getting killed by a Kindly One" – insert Poseidon's death glare at Hades – "yes, he's perfectly fine."

**I told her she was smoldering me, and to lay off and all that, but secretly, I was really, really glad to see her.**

"Momma's boy," chances Ares.

"I thought you would have learned your lesson by now, Ares," Poseidon said, and shoots a hard spout of water, causing Ares to slam into the opposite wall.

As he returns to his throne, glaring poisonously at his uncle, Hera picks up where she left off.

**From the other room, Gabe yelled, "Hey, Sally – how about some bean dip, huh?"**

Poseidon grits his teeth, and noticing, Hera chuckles softly to herself.

**I gritted my teeth.**

Poseidon wrenches his teeth apart, laughing quietly.

**My mom is the nicest lady in the world. She should've been married to a millionaire, not to some jerk like Gabe.**

"Or the King of the Seas, like Uncle P!" Apollo enthuses.

"He's married already, Apollo," Hera says sternly, ever the Goddess of Marriage. "We mustn't forget about Amphitrite."

"To be honest, and with all due respect to you, Lady Hera, and to Lady Amphitrite, I happen to prefer Ms. Jackson. But as she is mortal, I guess we'll have to settle for Lady Amphitrite as Queen of the Seas."

After Athena's little speech, the other Olympians and the King and Queen of the Underworld stare in shock at her, Poseidon more than anyone else.

"What? I'm being honest! Sally Jackson seems like a very independent, smart woman."

No one dared contradict the Wisdom Goddess, but they knew that Amphitrite would not be pleased.

**For her sake, I tried to sound upbeat about my last days at Yancy Academy. I told her I wasn't too down about expulsion. I'd lasted almost the whole year this time. I'd made some new friends. I'd done pretty well in Latin. And honestly, the fights hadn't been as bad as the headmaster said. I liked Yancy Academy. I really did. I put such a good spin on the year, I almost convinced myself.**

"You shouldn't lie to your mother, child," scolds Demeter. "She doesn't get to see you often." Again, she directs a poisonous glare at her brother.

Hades ignores it.

**I started choking up, thinking about Grover and Mr. Brunner. Even Nancy Bobofit suddenly didn't seem so bad.**

**Until that trip to the museum…**

"**What?" my mom asked. Her eyes tugged at my conscience, trying to pull out the secrets. "Did something scare you?"**

"No. It didn't scare it. It nearly killed him," Poseidon says sarcastically.

"**No, Mom."**

**I felt bad lying.**

"As he should!" Artemis voices.

**I wanted to tell her about Mrs. Dodds and the three old ladies with the yarn, but I thought it would sound stupid.**

"It wouldn't. Just tell her, son," Poseidon urges the book.

"Why wouldn't it sound stupid?" Zeus questions his brother out of pure curiosity.

"Sally can see through the Mist," Poseidon answers.

"A rare gift," Athena murmurs.

**She pursed her lips. She knew I was holding back, but she didn't push me.**

"That's very nice of her," Hephaestus remarks. "She sounds like a terrific mother." At this statement, he shoots a pointed _look_ at his mother.

Hera shifts uncomfortably.

"**I have a surprise for you," she said. "We're going to the beach."**

**My eyes widened. "Montauk?"**

Poseidon gasps softly. Montauk… Sally still went there? Even in the future?

Hearing the gasp, Aphrodite turns to the Sea God, her eyes sparkling. "Did you say something, Lord Poseidon?"

Shaking his head, he responds slowly and softly, "Montauk was where I met Sally."

"**Three nights – same cabin."**

"**When?"**

**She smiled. "As soon as I get changed."**

**I couldn't believe it. My mom and I hadn't been to Montauk the last two summers, because Gabe said there wasn't enough money.**

Poseidon growls deep in his throat. That _repulsive pig_ was keeping his son and his son's mother from going on their own vacation?

**Gabe appeared in the doorway and growled, "Bean dip, Sally? Didn't you hear me?"**

Several more Olympians glare at the book as Poseidon has to resist the urge to snap his trident in half.

**I wanted to punch him,**

"YES! ACTION! DO IT!" yells Ares.

**but I met my mom's eyes and I understood she was offering me a deal: be nice to Gabe for a little while. Just until she was ready to leave for Montauk. Then we would get out of here.**

"**I'm on my way, honey," she told Gabe. "We were just talking about the trip."**

"He better let them go," growls Artemis, who had become strangely protective of her uncle's child- in other words, her cousin.

**Gabe's eyes got small. "The trip? You mean you were serious about that?"**

"YES!" exclaims Demeter exasperatedly. "_Yes_, they were serious! This man _needs_ cereal! And a good year of farming would do well too!"

"**I knew it," I muttered. "He won't let us go."**

"Oh, he will, son. If he doesn't…" Poseidon lets the threat hang in the air, his sea green eyes murderous.

"**Of course he will," my mom said evenly.**

"See? Sally agrees with me," Poseidon says.

"**Your stepfather is just worried about money.**

"So that there's enough for him to gamble," Hephaestus mutters, disgusted.

**That's all. Besides," she added, "Gabriel won't have to settle for bean dip. I'll make him enough seven-layer dip for the whole weekend. Guacamole. Sour cream. The works."**

"Ooh, bribery! I like this woman, Uncle P!" yells Apollo, before joining Hermes in a daze, dreaming about seven-layer dip.

**Gabe softened a bit. "So this money for your trip… it comes out of your clothes budget, right?"**

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" shrieks Aphrodite, and all the throne room windows shatter, including a few outside. "YOU CAN'T PUT A PRICE ON CLOTHES! AND THEN TAKE IT AWAY! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! ANYTHING BUT THE CLOTHES!" she squeals.

As her fellow Olympians give Aphrodite we-need-to-get-you-to-the-nearest-mental-institution-now looks, Hera quickly lowers her eyes to the book.

"**Yes, honey," she said.**

Aphrodite whimpers.

"**And you won't take my car anywhere but there and back."**

"**We'll be very careful."**

**Gabe scratched his double chin.**

"Gross," mumbles Persephone.

"Gross? Persephone darling, you interact with the dead and him on a daily basis for six months a year!" Demeter scolds her, but her face says that she agrees with her daughter. "This is why you need to come live with me!"

Persephone sighs, obviously exasperated of this argument. "Mother, I _do_ live with you. Six months every year. I can't leave my kingdom. I'm the queen. I have responsibilities. Now will you _be quiet_ so Lady Hera can continue reading?"

Demeter gapes at her, shocked, and Hera seizes the opportunity.

"**Maybe if you hurry with that seven-layer dip… And maybe if the kid apologizes for interrupting my poker game."**

"In a technical angle, that would mean Jackson would have to apologize for walking into his own _home_," Athena points out.

**Maybe if I kick you in your soft spot, I thought. And make you sing soprano for a week.**

"DO IT!" chant Hermes and Apollo.

"I'll help you!" adds Poseidon.

"That would be hilarious!" Persephone, Athena, and Artemis admit.

"Hmm… a good idea for the Fields of Punishment," Hades muses.

"And force some cereal down his throat! And put him to work on a farm!" Demeter suggests.

"SHUT UP ABOUT THE CEREAL!" every god and goddess present shout at her.

Demeter looks insulted. "Cereal helps calm the mind and preserve the senses! And farming is good character building!"

Everyone just looks at her with the same look they had given Aphrodite.

**But my mom's eyes warned me not to make him mad.**

"Darn," Hermes, Apollo, Poseidon, Persephone, Athena, Artemis, and Hades mutter.

**Why did she put up with this guy? I wanted to scream. "Why did she care what he thought?**

"It's all for you, Jackson," Athena says, a bit sadly. This woman who seemed so bright and had a wonderful future in front of her had married this _pig_ to cover her demigod son's scent from monsters. She was unimaginably selfless.

Everyone except Poseidon slide their confused eyes to her.

"She married that pig to cover our son's scent from monsters," Poseidon explains half-heartedly.

The others (except Zeus and Hades) are marveling about this mortal's selflessness.

"**I'm- sorry," I muttered. "I'm really sorry I interrupted your incredibly important poker game. Please go back to it right now."**

Hermes and Apollo roar with laughter.

"I _love_ your son, Uncle P!" shouts Hermes.

**Gabe's eyes narrowed. His tiny brain was probably trying to detect sarcasm in my statement.**

"He has a brain?" Apollo queries innocently.

"**Yeah, whatever," he decided.**

"Stupid," several gods mutter.

**He went back to his game.**

"Which he'll probably lose," comments Hermes.

"**Thank you, Percy," my mom said. "Once we get to Montauk, we'll talk more about… whatever you've forgotten to tell me, okay?"**

**For a moment, I thought I saw anxiety in her eyes – the same fear I'd seen in Grover during the bus ride – as if my mom too felt an odd chill in the air.**

**But then her smile returned, and I figured I must have been mistaken. She ruffled my hair**

"NO! NOT THE HAIR!" Apollo screeches, sounding quite like Aphrodite and drawing odd looks.

**and went to make Gabe his seven-layer dip.**

**An hour later we were ready to leave.**

Poseidon let out a sigh of relief.

"It's a good thing Smelly Gabe the pig let them go, otherwise Uncle P would have exploded," Hermes says aloud in a conversational voice.

**Gabe took a break from his poker game long enough to watch me lug my mom's bags to the car.**

"He _watched_? This is one sick man," Hephaestus mutters.

"More so than most men," Artemis adds.

Apollo gasps, placing a hand over his heart. "Did you just _compliment_ men, sis?"

"I did no such thing," snaps Artemis. "And DON'T CALL ME SIS!"

**He kept griping about losing her cooking – and more importantly, his '78 Camaro – for the whole weekend.**

"What would he do in there, play a poker game?" snorts Hermes. He and Apollo seemed to be the running commentators for this book.

"**Not a scratch on this car, brain boy," he warned me as I loaded the last bag. "Not one little scratch."**

"Like he'd be the one driving it. He's twelve!" Poseidon points out.

Again, Hera chuckles and responds to Poseidon's murderous glare by reading.

**Like I'd be the one driving. I was twelve.**

As his family bursts out laughing, Poseidon simply smiles softly. Perhaps Percy had inherited more of him than he thought.

**But that didn't matter to Gabe. If a seagull so much as pooped on his paint job, he'd find a way to blame me.**

"GO SEAGULLS!" yells Apollo.

Artemis groans, putting her head in her hands. After a few moments of silence (with the others looking at Apollo weirdly), she lifts her head and says, "Does anyone have the number to the nearest mental institution?"

**Watching him lumber back toward the apartment building, I got so mad I did something I can't explain.**

Everyone, especially the troublemakers (*cough* HERMES *cough* APOLLO), leans forward in their thrones.

**As Gabe reached the doorway, I made the hand gesture I'd seen Grover make on the bus, a sort of warding-off-evil gesture, a clawed hand over my heart, then a shoving movement toward Gabe. The screen door slammed shut so hard it whacked him in the butt and sent him flying up the staircase as if he'd been shot from a cannon.**

Silence reigns for a few moments, before Hermes and Apollo burst into hysterical laughter.

Over his sons' immature laughing spells, Zeus asks, "How is that possible? Isn't that supposed to be a power of my demigod children?"

Everyone looks toward Athena for an explanation. She is sitting there thoughtfully. "I think that this is one very powerful demigod."

**Maybe it was just the wind, or some freak accident with the hinges, but I didn't stay long enough to find out.**

**I got in the Camaro and told my mom to step on it.**

**Our rental cabin was on the south shore, way out at the tip of Long Island. It was a little pastel box with faded curtains, half sunken into the dunes. There was always sand in the sheets and spiders in the cabinets,**

Athena shivers.

**and most of the time the sea was too cold to swim in.**

"I thought that one of the awesomely amazing powers of being Uncle P's kid meant that water's temperature had no effect," Apollo says.

Poseidon shrugs. "I have no explanation to that."

**I loved the place.**

**We'd been going there since I was a baby. My mom had been going even longer. She never exactly said, but I knew why the beach was special to her. It was the place where she'd met my dad.**

"Awwwwwwww," coos Aphrodite.

"How is this POSSIBLE?" wails Apollo, but refuses to answer to the others' inquiring looks.

**As we got closer to Montauk, she seemed to grow younger, years of worry and work disappearing from her face. Her eyes turned the color of the sea.**

Envisioning this, Poseidon smiles wistfully.

**We got there at sunset, opened all the cabin's windows, and went through our usual cleaning routine. We walked on the beach, fed blue corn chips to the seagulls, and munched on blue jelly beans, blue saltwater taffy, and all the other free samples my mom had brought from work.**

Apollo and Hermes begin to drool at the mention of candy.

"What's with the blue food? Isn't that supposed to be my color?" Zeus questions.

"It will explain if you allow me to read, husband," Hera replies.

**I guess I should explain the blue food.**

"Who cares what color it is? As long as it's FOOD, give it to me!" yells Hermes.

**See, Gabe had once told my mom there was no such thing.**

"Blueberries, perhaps? Blue raspberries, for example? Eggplants?" Athena lists.

"Actually, Owl-Brain, eggplants are purple," Poseidon corrects her.

The council falls silent. Did _Poseidon_ just correct _Athena_?

**They had this fight, which seemed like a really small thing at the time. But ever since, my mom went out of her way to eat blue. She baked blue birthday cakes. She mixed blueberry smoothies. She bought blue-corn tortilla chips and brought home blue candy from the shop. **

Again, Apollo and Hermes were almost falling off their thrones in desire for food. Taking pity on them, Demeter makes a bowl of cereal in front of each of them. "Eat. It will help!" she orders.

Apollo picks his jaw off the floor and ceases the flow of drool. **(A/N: Ew, I know)** "Cereal? We desire food to the brink of insanity and you give us _cereal_?"

"Mother, that's just unfair," chides Persephone. "No one likes cereal, and that is helped by your constant nagging."

Demeter looks offended and turns an accusing finger on Hades. "See what you've done with my sweet, innocent Kore? She is insulting _my ways_, when I've clearly taught her that mother always knows best. You've _corrupted_ her!"

Before the Goddess of Agriculture could launch a physical attack on her brother, Zeus stands and thunders, "SILENCE! Persephone, you have your own opinion; do not belittle your mother's. Demeter, is it really necessary to bless your nephews with flavorless cereal? And accusing Hades of corrupting _our_ daughter?"

Hera's expression sours at the reminder that the Queen of the Underworld and Spring Goddess was _another_ one of her husband's stupid illegitimate children.

Demeter scowls, but doesn't dare to contradict the King of the Gods… at least, not now. She resumes her seat, switching her poisonous glare from Hermes to Apollo to Hades.

**This – along with keeping her maiden name, Jackson, rather than calling herself Mrs. Ugliano –**

"Ew! Who would want_ that_ last name?" Aphrodite spits.

**was proof that she wasn't totally suckered by Gabe.**

"Thank Zeus," mutters Artemis. This Gabe was even worse than other men she had encountered in the millennia she had lived.

Zeus glances at her. "I had nothing to do with it."

Artemis rolls her eyes. "It's simply an _expression_, Father. I couldn't really say 'thank the gods', could I? Seeing as I would be including myself in my thanks."

**She did have a rebellious streak, like me.**

"Oh, he didn't just get that from his mother. Poseidon has more than a rebellious streak," Hades informs the room at large.

Poseidon didn't look offended. "I won't argue with that, brother."

**When it got dark, we made a fire. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows.**

"No, not the food again!" shouts Apollo before descending into a daze of daydreaming of food along with Hermes.

Zeus stares at his sons for a moment. "How in Tartarus did I end up with such childish, immature sons?"

Hera scowls at him. "That's what you get for having children illegitimately," she snaps before continuing to read.

**Mom told me stories about when she was a kid, back before her parents died in the plane crash. She told me about the books she wanted to write someday,**

Athena smiles softly at this sentence. "She will have my fullest blessing."

**when she had enough money to quit the candy shop.**

"Candy," drools Hermes, still in the daze.

**Eventually, I got up the nerve to ask about what was always on my mind whenever we came to Montauk – my father. Mom's eyes went all misty. I figured she would tell me the same things she always did, but I never got tired of hearing them.**

Poseidon smiles at this. He wished he could be there in person, but a certain king of the gods prevented that.

"**He was kind, Percy," she said. "Tall, handsome, and powerful. But gentle, too. You have his black hair, you know, and his green eyes."**

Apollo snaps himself out of his daze. "No! It's IMPOSSIBLE!" he shrieks again, but this time, he explains himself. "Every time we impregnate a mortal woman, they either hate our guts or completely forget or ignore us, never telling our children about their godly parent. But Sally Jackson still loves Poseidon! Uncle P, _tell us your secrets_!" he begs, dropping to his knees in front of his uncle.

Poseidon stifles a chuckle as he looks seriously at his nephew. "My secret is to remain just that, Apollo. Go back to your throne before your dear father decides to zap us all for interrupting your _wonderful_ stepmother so constantly."

Hera glares at her brother venomously.

**Mom fished a blue jelly bean out of her candy bag. "I wish he could see you, Percy. He would be so proud."**

"I can see him. Just not in person. And I _am_ proud of him. Very proud," Poseidon proclaims with all the sincerity in his being.

**I wondered how she could say that. What was so great about me? A dyslexic, hyperactive boy with a D+ report card, kicked out of school for the sixth time in six years.**

"Those things don't matter to me, son. It's perfectly normal for a demigod. But the way you think, your personality, and your heart are all so much more important. You have a quirky sense of humor, and your heart is in the right place. Your talents lay in other places than school… and archery," Poseidon adds as an afterthought, generating laughs, especially from the archer twins, Artemis and Apollo.

Aphrodite beams. It was rare she felt so many _sincere_ waves of fatherly love toward a demigod child radiating off a god, let alone one of the Big Three. Being around such love, even if it wasn't romantic love, made her happy.

"He needs cereal. That will cure his dyslexia, ADHD, and maybe get him out of being kicked out of school for a seventh time," Demeter muses decisively.

"Nothing will cure his dyslexia and ADHD, Lady Demeter. They are both major signs of being a demigod, and his brain is hardwired for ancient Greek, not English, and his ADHD is vital in a battle," Athena tells her aunt. "As for his abysmal grades and the horrible reputation of getting kicked out… well, only the sea spawn can alter that."

Demeter looks miffed at being told off by her niece, but Zeus gestures for Hera to continue reading before they had to endure _another_ outburst from Demeter, probably including rants on how they all needed more cereal, time behind a plow or tractor, and raving about Hades kidnapping her precious daughter and corrupting her.

"**How old was I?" I asked. "I mean… when he left?"**

Poseidon looks guilty, and then the look changes to anger as it slides onto his younger brother.

**She watched the flames. "He was only with me for one summer, Percy. Right here at this beach. This cabin."**

Memories of that summer, possibly the best one of his immortal existence, flash across Poseidon's vision as Hera continues.

"**But… he knew me as a baby."**

"**No, honey. He knew I was expecting a baby, but he never saw you. He had to leave before you were born."**

Again, Poseidon's look shifts to guilt.

**I tried to square that with the fact that I seemed to remember… something about my father. A warm glow. A smile.**

"YOU VISITED HIM?" roars Zeus, the air around him crackling and being to smell of ozone as he stands, gripping his master bolt.

Poseidon simply looked at him calmly, his hand resting almost casually on his trident. "I did, brother, but to punish me for doing so would be hypocritical of you. And the rest of you," he adds.

"What?" Zeus demands sharply.

"Don't play dumb, brother. I know you all visited your demigod children before, if not multiple times," Poseidon informs his family.

All of a sudden, the others feign interest in their clothes or the floor, as Zeus stares at his brother, his master bolt crackling with electricity.

Without a word, he resumes his seat, still glaring at his older brother.

**I had always assumed he knew me as a baby. My mom had never said it outright, but still, I'd felt it must be true. Now, to be told that he'd never even seen me…**

"I have seen you, son, and without getting punished by your dramatic idiot of an uncle too," Poseidon tells the book.

Zeus looks offended, but Hades, chuckling, says, "It's true, brother."

**I felt angry at my father.**

Poseidon looks down guiltily, but he wasn't the only one. The others felt bad about neglecting their demigod children, too, but some, like Ares, manage to glare outright at Zeus, probably blaming him.

**Maybe it was stupid, but I resented him for going on that ocean voyage, for not having the guts to marry my mom. He'd left us, and now we were stuck with Smelly Gabe.**

"It wasn't my fault, son. Blame your idiotic uncle," Poseidon growls, glaring fiercely at Zeus.

The other gods and goddesses begin to glare at him as well, since they couldn't interfere with their children's lives either.

"**Are you going to send me away again?" I asked her. "To another boarding school?"**

**She pulled a marshmallow from the fire.**

"MARSHMALLOW!" squeal Apollo and Hermes in unison, once again descending into a daydream of Candyland, and not just the kid's board game, either.

"**I don't know, honey." Her voice was heavy. "I think… I think we'll have to do something."**

"**Because you don't want me around?"**

The goddesses in the throne room gasp.

"WHAT? After _all_ she's done, putting up with that _pig_ just to mask his scent… you accuse her of not wanting you around?" Hera explodes.

"Here I was thinking that he could be the only decent boy!" chimes in Artemis.

"Poor Sally! That must have hurt! Stupid sea spawn," Athena scowls.

"Ungrateful little brats. I changed my mind. I don't like this demigod after all. At least now I can maintain my reputation of hating each and every demigod that walks the planet. Mothers are supposed to be respected and loved!" Hera rages, feeling for the mortal woman.

Hephaestus stares at his mother. "Respected and loved? Mother, you threw me off Olympus and crippled me for the rest of my immortal existence. Yet you expect me to respect and love you?"

Before Hera can retort, Demeter adds in her two cents. "I agree with Hera! And a child should _never_ be taken away from his or her mother!" Here she glares pointedly at her brother, who just rolls his eyes and turns to engage his wife in a conversation.

"Hera, read," Zeus commands, and not even she, the queen, could refuse his command, so she picks up the book.

As she reads the next sentence, she sends a telepathic message to her son. _Hephaestus, I truly am sorry. I acted on impulse._

**I regretted the words as soon as they were out.**

_Mother, I said I forgave you. But I can't help but feel bitter. I have a question,_ came Hephaestus's telepathic reply.

"Good! At least he has _some_ decency," grumbles Artemis.

"Arty? Saying that a male has decency?" Apollo grips his chest dramatically. "It's the zombie apocalypse!"

"_DON'T CALL ME ARTY!_" yells Artemis, and in the time it would take to blink, she has a sharp silver arrow notched in her bow and aimed directly at her brother's forehead.

_Ask away, my son,_ Hera replies.

_Can we talk at the break after this chapter?_ Hephaestus asks, and then says aloud after examining Artemis's notched arrow, "You might want to run, Apollo. That one is the sonic arrow."

Apollo gulps and says, dropping to his knees in front of his twin sister, "Forgive me, dear Artemis! It was a terrible thing for me to say. Please forgive me!" he begs.

Artemis, clearly enjoying seeing her brother bow to her, pulls back the string of her bow slightly, watching his eyes widen.

Before she could make a threat or taunt, Zeus yells, "QUIET! We will never finish this book if you all keep _interrupting_!"

"My love, could we take a break after this chapter for lunch?" Hera asks sweetly.

Zeus stares at her, taken aback. It had been _centuries_ since Hera had called him 'my love'. "Yes, of course, seeing as I don't want to endure another chapter of Hermes and Apollo's complaining, but _what_ did you just call me?"

Looking at him innocently, Hera responds, "Thank you, my love. My love, I just called you my love."

Trying to break Zeus out of his dazed state, Poseidon splashes him with water straight from the Arctic Ocean.

Impulsively, Zeus jumps and reaches for his master bolt, but then remembers his wife's addressing of him. "But you never call me your love. Your lord, yes, but not your love."

"Can we stop discussing your pet names for each other and _continue with my son's story_?" yells Poseidon.

Hera turns back to the book as if nothing had happened.

**My mom's eyes welled with tears. She took my hand, squeezed it tight. "Oh, Percy, no. I – I **_**have**_** to, honey. For your own good. I have to send you away."**

"Which is my fault, as the result of us sealing our oath upon the River Styx," grumbles Poseidon, feeling pangs of guilt deep in his gut.

**Her words reminded me of what Mr. Brunner had said – that it was best for me to leave Yancy.**

"CHIRON STRIKES AGAIN!" cheers Apollo, earning looks that said you-are-clearly-deranged-why-do-we-have-to-be-related-to-you?

"**Because I'm not normal," I said.**

"Of course you're not! You're a demigod, and a son of Poseidon at that!" Artemis exclaims in exasperation.

"Which means that he is a _very_ powerful demigod," Athena adds.

"**You say that as if it's a bad thing, Percy. But you don't realize how important you are.**

No he doesn't, Poseidon thinks, remembering the prophecy. His brothers are having similar thoughts. Could this be the child of the Great Prophecy?

**I thought Yancy Academy would be far enough away. I thought you'd finally be safe."**

"**Safe from what?"**

"Your psychotic, psychopath, berserk, cracked, crazed, demented, idiotic, insane, maniacal, mental, nutty, unbalanced, unglued, and wacky dimwits you call your uncles," Poseidon rattles off.

"Those describe Dad and Lord Hades very well," Apollo compliments his uncle. "See? Uncle P's cool, unlike you, dead dude and crazy dad!"

Poseidon winces, waiting for his brothers to unleash their rage on the Sun God.

"APOLLO! YOU WILL NOT SPEAK TO ME THAT WAY! I AM YOUR KING!" Zeus explodes, right on time.

Apollo looks at him. "You're not just my king. Unfortunately, you're my father, and I said that to you as your son, not your subject." He grins.

"APOLLO! YOU WILL REGRET THE DAY YOU WERE BORN ONCE MY SKELETON ARMY IS FINISHED WITH YOU, AND I MIGHT THROW IN SOME OF HECATE'S MAGIC AS WELL!" threatens Hades.

"Yo, calm down, Uncle H," Apollo teases nonchalantly.

Artemis, rolling her eyes, stalks over to her brother and gives him a _hard_ slap upside the head. "Shut up, you stupid god of the sun."

**She met my eyes, and a flood of memories came back to me – all the weird, scary things that had ever happened to me, some of which I'd tried to forget.**

**During third grade, a man in a black trench coat had stalked me on the playground. When the teachers threatened to call the police, he went away growling, but not no one believed me when I told them that under his broad-brimmed hat, the man only had one eye, right in the middle of his head.**

"A Cyclops? Why would a Cyclops be tailing an eight- or nine-year-old demigod?" Hera questions, interrupting her own reading.

She hears Zeus give an irritated sigh, but ignores it.

"I probably sent him to check up on Percy," Poseidon answers.

**Before that – a really early memory. I was in preschool and a teacher accidentally put me down for a nap in a cot that a snake at slithered into.**

"Disgusting," voices Aphrodite.

**My mom screamed when she came to pick me up and found me playing with a limp, scaly rope I'd somehow managed to strangle to death with my meaty toddler hands.**

Again, the throne room falls silent. The silence is broken by Athena, who says, "This _is_ a very powerful demigod."

**In every single school, something creepy had happened, something unsafe, and I was forced to move.**

**I knew I should tell my mom about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds at the art museum, about my hallucination that I had sliced my math teacher into dust with a sword.**

"You should. She'd understand," Poseidon advises his book-son.

"Hallucination? He's still allowing the Mist to affect him?" Demeter inquires. "Poseidon, you better make sure that this boy eats a lot of cereal. He'll need it."

Poseidon grits his teeth, refraining from commenting on his sister's eccentric ways of disciplining children.

**But I couldn't make myself tell her. I had a strange feeling the news would end our trip to Montauk, and I didn't want that.**

"**I've tried to keep you as close to me as I could," my mom said. "They told me that was a mistake. But there's only one other option, Percy – the place your father wanted to send you. And I just… I just can't stand to do it."**

"Motherly love. It's hard to send away a child, much less get _them kidnapped_," growls Demeter.

"I get it, okay, woman? I shouldn't have kidnapped your daughter, we all need more cereal, you should put us to farming for a decade or so. We've heard it all, unfortunately. Shut _up_ before I unleash a few monsters from Tartarus on you," Hades snaps, finally letting his temper get better of him. "Or even Cerberus would suffice."

Despite herself, Demeter's eyes widen. "Cerberus?" she whispers, unsure of who – or _what_ – that was.

Persephone chuckles lightly and softly. "Don't scare my mother, my lord," she gently chastises her husband, but from the laughter in her eyes, they knew she didn't mean it. "And don't worry, Mother, Cerberus wouldn't hurt a person." Under her breath she mutters so that only her husband could hear, "That he likes."

"**My father wanted me to go to a special school?"**

"**Not a school," she said softly. "A summer camp."**

"Dun, dun, dun! Enter Camp Half-Blood, home of my Oracle!" cheers Apollo.

"Apollo, shut the Hades up. The sooner we finish this chapter, the sooner you get your food, but we can't finish the chapter with your constant immature interruptions," Artemis bites out.

**My head was spinning. Why would my dad – who hadn't even stayed around long enough to see me born – talk to my mom about a summer camp?**

"Because it will protect you from your crazy uncles, to paraphrase Uncle P's monologue," Hermes informs the book.

**And if it was so important, why hadn't she ever mentioned it before?**

Demeter refrains from commenting on a mother's love and how it hurt to have her child taken away, but just because of the threat of monsters from the depths of Tartarus sent out to attack her.

"**I'm sorry, Percy," she said, seeing the look in my eyes. "But I can't talk about it. I – I couldn't send you to that place. It might mean saying good-bye to you for good."**

Hera frowns. "Poor woman. She seems a lot more decent than some of your former flings, Poseidon."

Poseidon shrugs. "Sally is a queen among women."

"**For good? But if it's only a summer camp…"**

"Not only, my son," Poseidon whispers sadly.

**She turned toward the fire, and I knew from her expression that if I asked her any more questions she would start to cry.**

**That night I had a vivid dream.**

"A demigod dream? Those are prophetic," Athena reminds the council.

Poseidon doesn't retort; he is anxious to find out what his son was going to dream of.

**It was storming on the beach, and two beautiful animals, a white horse and a golden eagle, were trying to kill each other at the edge of the surf.**

Poseidon and Zeus exchange a glance.

"What's got your togas in twists now?" Ares inquires.

Poseidon shrugs. "It's in the future, Ares. But whatever it was, it's probably his fault." He points an accusing finger in his younger brother's direction.

"It was not! It was probably _your_ fault!" Zeus childishly returns.

"Probably a result of the usual fight of 'Mother Rhea always liked you best'," Demeter comments.

"Or the classic 'air disasters are better than sea disasters'," adds Hera.

The two brothers in question glare at their sisters.

**The eagle swooped down and slashed the horse's muzzle with its huge talons.**

Poseidon winces as Zeus yells, "WOOP! GO ME!"

**The horse reared up and kicked at the eagle's wings.**

Keen on not thinking of a crazy, psychopath god, Poseidon doesn't say a word, though on the inside, he's gloating.

**As they fought, the ground rumbled, and a monstrous voice chuckled somewhere beneath the earth, goading the animals to fight harder.**

The King of the Gods and the God of the Seas turn to face their oldest brother.

Hades throws up his hands. "It's in the future! But I don't think it's me."

Having read ahead, Hera agrees with him. "I don't think so either."

The Big Three turn to face her in interest.

**I ran toward them, knowing I had to stop them from killing each other, but I was running in slow motion.**

There is a deafening silence.

"Kronos," Athena finally whispers of her grandfather (shiver), looking at the faces of her family members. The throne room darkens after the word disappears into the air.

Each and every one of them looks terrified.

"Are we about to fight another war?" wonders Demeter, forgetting for once to yell at Hades and rant about cereal.

"If we are, we can't afford to bicker unceasingly," Poseidon says gravely, turning to his two brothers. "We can't defeat our _father_" – he snorts the term – "if we're fighting and unwilling to help each other."

"Wait," Artemis says, holding up a hand. "We aren't even sure if there _will_ be a war. Kronos has stirred before, and we haven't fought a war yet."

"Artemis is correct," murmurs Athena, her mind working. "We cannot get worked up. If this book keeps foreshadowing, I think that then we may worry freely, but for now, we should just enjoy the book."

**I knew I would be too late. I saw the eagle dive down, its beak aimed at the horse's wide eyes, and I screamed, **_**No!**_

"Ha! I beat you!" gloats Zeus, pointing at Poseidon and getting off his throne to do a happy dance.

Poseidon surveys the scene placidly from his throne.

"The boy defers to his father. He is drawn to the horse," marvels Athena.

**I woke with a start.**

"Darn! I wanted to see his dream-reaction to _me_, the amazing, almighty Zeus beating up his father, the lowly, unworthy Poseidon!" Zeus declares.

Poseidon rewards his little speech with a bath of special Black Sea water.

**Outside, it really was storming, the kind of storm that cracks trees and blows down houses.**

Everyone glances at Poseidon and Zeus.

**There was no horse or eagle on the beach, just lightning making false daylight, and twenty-foot waves pounding the dunes like artillery.**

"Father, you and Uncle P are _extremely_ angry," Apollo points out helpfully.

**With the next thunderclap, my mom woke. She sat up, eyes wide, and said, "Hurricane."**

**I knew that was crazy. Long Island never sees hurricanes this early in the summer. But the ocean seemed to have forgotten.**

"Or the god who _controls_ the ocean seems to be quite angry with the god causing the lightning and thunder," Athena says as Hermes laughs.

"Yeah, Uncle P, are you coming down with Alzheimer's? Or have you been hit with amnesia?"

**Over the roar of the wind, I heard a distant bellow, an angry, tortured sound that made my hair stand on end.**

The council members glance warily at each other and the book.

**Then a much closer noise, like mallets in the sand. A desperate voice – someone yelling, pounding on our cabin door.**

**My mother sprang out of bed in her nightgown and threw open the lock.**

**Grover stood framed in the doorway against a backdrop of pouring rain.**

Zeus begins to mutter to himself at the mention of Grover.

**But he wasn't… he wasn't exactly Grover.**

"**Searching all night," he gasped. "What were you thinking?"**

**My mother looked at me in terror – not scared of Grover, but why he'd come.**

The Olympians, Hades, and Persephone lean forward in their thrones, caught up in the story.

"**Percy," she said, shouting to be heard over the rain. "What happened at school? Why didn't you tell me?"**

**I was frozen, looking at Grover.**

Artemis groans. "_Now_ he decides to be a normal boy? Typical."

**I couldn't understand what I was seeing.**

"The boy seems to be quite slow," Athena remarks conversationally.

"_**O Zeu kai alloi theoi!**_**" he yelled. "It's right behind me! Didn't you **_**tell**_** her?"**

**I was too shocked to register that he'd just cursed in Ancient Greek, and I'd understood him perfectly. I was too shocked to wonder how Grover had gotten here by himself in the middle of night. Because Grover didn't have his pants on – and where his legs should be… where his legs should be…**

"Don't repeat yourself, Hera!" Zeus cries, exasperated.

"It's what the book says!" Hera snaps back, defending herself.

**My mom looked at me sternly and talked in a tone she'd never used before: "**_**Percy**_**. Tell me **_**now**_**!"**

Poseidon grips the armrests of his throne, worrying about the safety of his son, his son's mother, and the satyr, but most especially, his son.

**I stammered something about the old ladies at the fruit stand,**

Everyone shudders at the mention of the Fates before looking at Hera, caught up in the story.

**and Mrs. Dodds,**

Hades flinches, but Poseidon is too worried about whether or not the trio would survive to attack him for sending a Fury to attack his son.

**and my mom stared at me, her face deathly pale in the flashes of lightning.**

**She grabbed her purse, tossed me my rain jacket, and said, "Get to the car. Both of you. **_**Go**_**!"**

**Grover ran for the Camaro – but he wasn't running, exactly.**

"Quit the descriptions! Just tell me if my son will survive or not!" yells Poseidon.

**He was trotting, shaking his shaggy hindquarters, and suddenly his story about a muscular disorder in his legs made sense to me. I understood how he could run so fast and still limp when he walked.**

**Because where his feet should be, there were no feet. There were cloven hooves.**

Hera reads the last sentence softly so that the others have to strain to hear, and then she closes the book, setting it beside her on her throne.

"What? Hera! You can't stop there!" whines Apollo.

"It's the end of the chapter," Hera says sharply. She never liked her stepson.

"FOOD!" screeches Apollo, and bolts. Hermes is on his tail.

The others sit stonily in their thrones, staring at each other.

"Well, that was an interesting chapter," Hephaestus says, trying to break the tension.

Aphrodite, sensing what he's trying to do, beams at her husband. "Indeed it was. I think I might be messing in Grover's love life in the future. Maybe Percy's too!"

Ares scowls as he sees his lover beaming so brightly at her husband. Aphrodite wasn't supposed to _like_ Hephaestus, even if they were married.

"You will do no such thing," Poseidon says in a threatening, hollow voice.

Aphrodite, scared, nods frantically. "No, I won't, I swear, Lord Poseidon!"

Poseidon cracks a smile. "Sorry for alarming you, Aphrodite, but I'm sort of anxious about my son's life right now."

Aphrodite is about to shake it off when she is cut off by a blinding flash of light and three consecutive thumps.

x.o.x.o.x.

A/N: There you go! The third chapter! I hope you liked it! I think you all know what the light and thumps signal, don't you? ;) Leave reviews! See you next time! Love you all!


	4. My Mother Teaches Me Bullfighting

A/N: Not much to say here! Enjoy!

x.o.x.o.x.

In front of them stand six people, meaning each thump had signaled the arrival of two people.

"Introduce yourselves," Zeus booms, looking suspiciously at the six.

One girl with spiky black hair jumps, glancing at the King of the Gods, but doesn't say anything.

"You mean you didn't summon us?" a boy in all black questions, startled.

"No," Athena answers.

The six demigods exchange looks. Before they could say anything, Hermes and Apollo burst back into the throne room, each holding quite a bit of ambrosia.

"LUNCH!" squeals Apollo, but then he realizes they have guests. "Demigods?"

"Perhaps," Artemis says, rolling her eyes at her brother's antics.

"Introduce yourselves!" repeats Zeus loudly.

"Wait- what year are we in?" a blonde girl asks.

"It is 2002," Poseidon responds.

Her eyes widen as she glances at her peers.

"Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena," the blonde girl says, stepping forward.

Before the next supposed demigod could introduce herself, a boom is heard, and while everyone looks toward Zeus, Annabeth picks a piece of paper off her head and hands it to the spiky-haired girl.

"Annabeth, you have to use your full title," the girl says.

Annabeth groans. "Fine. Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, Architect of Olympus," she corrects herself.

"Why would we need an _architect_?" questions Hera while Athena beams at her daughter.

"That's a very admirable position, my daughter."

Annabeth grins at the praise as she falls back into line with the others.

"Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus, lieutenant of Artemis," the spiky-haired girl introduces, not elaborating.

"But- but you're supposed to be a tree!" Zeus exclaims as Hera glares venomously at the demigod.

"Second book," Thalia replies vaguely, pointing at the stack of books near the throne room's doors. "Lady Artemis," she adds, bowing respectfully to the Goddess of the Hunt.

"What happened to Zoë?" demands Artemis. She was quite attached to her current lieutenant.

"Third book," Thalia responds, just as vaguely.

"Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, Ghost King, Ambassador of Pluto," the boy in all black says after Thalia falls back.

"HADES!" thunders Zeus, whirling on his older brother.

"ZEUS! Calm down! Nico was born before World War II. Hades put him in the Lotus Hotel and Casino, where time is frozen." Surprisingly, it is Poseidon who says this.

Hades looks at him, amazed.

"What? You two keep tabs on my children. Why shouldn't I do the same to yours?" Poseidon demands, catching his amazed look. "And _no_, I did not attempt to kill him, Bianca, or Maria."

"Thank you," Hades murmurs, turning to glare at Zeus.

"Can we _please_ not speak of _that woman_ in my presence?" whines Persephone.

Demeter glares at Hades. "I knew you were a good-for-nothing god. Cheating on my dear, precious Kore! Have you no morals? You need-"

"Cereal, we know, we know. And _don't_ talk about my mother that way in front of me," Nico snaps, glaring at his stepmother and the Agriculture Goddess.

Demeter switches her glare to Nico. "I have half a mind to suffocate you with wheat right now, boy," she growls. "You are one who has had way to little cereal. You need farming!"

"Demeter! Leave my son alone," Hades says sharply. "He has done nothing wrong."

"Nothing wrong? He is living proof of your unfaithfulness! I should have known that you would be like Lord Poseidon and Father! It runs in the family!" accuses Persephone.

"SILENCE!" yells Zeus. "We are not here to bicker. We are here to read those books. Now allow the other three to introduce themselves!"

"Will Solace, son of Apollo," another boy says, stepping forward.

Apollo grins. "That's my boy!"

"My dear nephew, you have quite the eccentric father. Be careful," Artemis warns him. "Your father should be in the mental institute by now, but I don't think that the earth would fare well without the sun. So that's out of the question."

Everyone laughs except Apollo, who pouts at his twin sister. "Arty! That's _so_ unfair!"

"Stop acting like a child, and DON'T CALL ME ARTY!" yells Artemis.

"Enough!" Zeus commands his twin children. "The last two have yet to introduce themselves."

"Katie Gardner, daughter of Demeter," another girl introduces.

"Have you had enough cereal, my girl? And have you ever farmed?" Demeter asks sternly as Persephone scowls. A demigod half-sister. Just what she needed, along with an insolent stepson.

"Um… yeah?" Katie guesses.

"Good," Demeter says, nodding proudly.

The last demigod steps forward.

_Definitely a child of Ares,_ muses Aphrodite, seeing the girl's posture and face.

"Clarisse La Rue, daughter of Ares, drakon slayer," she says proudly.

"That's my girl!" yells Ares.

"Go have lunch in the dining hall. When you come back, the thrones will be shrunk to human size and temporary thrones for our children will be placed in here," Zeus orders.

"Wait!" Poseidon interrupts. "Where's my son?"

The six demigods exchange looks. "He's- he's missing," Thalia says, her voice cracking.

Annabeth turns away, lowering her head.

"MISSING?" Poseidon roars. "He's _missing_?"

"Poseidon, just go eat," Zeus orders.

"EAT? My son is MISSING and you expect me to EAT?" Poseidon explodes at his brother.

"Don't speak to me that way," Zeus warns.

"I'm your older brother, Zeus, I can speak to you any way I like," Poseidon growls. "You would be singing a different tune if _your_ daughter was missing."

"Poseidon," Hera says quietly. "Percy is missing. We cannot do anything about it. Screaming and yelling will do nothing. So please calm down and perhaps you can skip this meal."

Poseidon just glares at her, but replies, "Fine. Just go and leave me alone."

x.o.x.o.x.

"Okay, who wants to read next?" the Queen of the Gods asks, holding out the book.

"I will," offers Athena, taking the book from her stepmother.

**My Mother Teaches Me Bullfighting,** reads Athena.

Poseidon pales. The demigods exchange looks again, but don't say anything. Clarisse, Katie, and Will had never heard of this, but Annabeth, Thalia, and Nico had.

**We tore through the night along dark country roads.**

"Dark? Country? Not good! Always a sign of danger!" Hermes announces.

**Wind slammed against the Camaro. Rain lashed the windshield. I didn't know how my mom could see anything, but she kept her foot on the gas.**

**Every time there was a flash of lightning,**

Poseidon glares contemptuously at Zeus.

**I looked at Grover sitting next to me in the backseat and I wondered if I'd gone insane, or if he was wearing some kind of shag-carpet pants.**

"Shag-carpet pants? He could die and he's thinking of that?" Annabeth asks, outraged.

Thalia laughs. "Shut it, Annie. What will be _really_ hilarious is if Grover knew that.

The demigods burst out laughing.

"Grover," growls Zeus angrily.

Thalia ceases her laughing and turns to face him. "Father, I'm fine. It was _my_ choice. Don't blame Grover," she says sharply.

**But, no, the smell was one I remembered from kindergarten field trips to the petting zoo – lanolin, like from wool. The smell of a wet barnyard animal.**

Again, the demigods burst out laughing, Will falling on the floor. Apollo wasn't much better, as Artemis looks on disdainfully. Some of the other gods chuckle softly.

"If Grover and Prissy were here, I doubt Prissy would survive," quips Clarisse.

**All I could think to say was, "So, you and my mom… know each other?"**

"Sally is fantastic," Annabeth comments, interrupting her mother at the mention of Percy's.

Nico nods. "Her blue birthday cake is amazing!"

"And she's never raised her voice at us," Thalia adds.

"I want to meet Sally Jackson!" whines Will.

"Maybe I can try her blue cake!" enthuses Katie.

"Oh, no. You will get cereal instead," scolds her mother.

Katie scowls. "Mother, I eat plenty of cereal. Nearly every morning, in fact. I won't eat _cereal_ at my friend's house!"

Persephone warms up to the girl. Maybe she isn't so bad after all, standing up to their mother like this. "Mother, you must know the limits. I mean, you made _cereal_ appear for Apollo and Hermes when they were near insane for food!"

"Limits? Perhaps you should lecture your _husband_ on limits, Kore," Demeter shoots back, slightly upset that her daughters were ganging up on her.

"Demeter, I get it, okay? I shouldn't have corrupted your little girl, we all need more cereal, blah, blah, blah. I just said it last chapter!" Hades yells, exasperated.

"Kore? Isn't her name Persephone?" Katie asks curiously.

"My dear sister wanted Kore, I made it Persephone. Now read, Athena," Zeus explains quickly.

**Grover's eyes flitted to the rearview mirror, though there were no cars behind us.**

"Maybe something worse, though," Artemis remarks.

"**Not exactly," he said. "I mean, we've never met in person. But she knew I was watching you."**

"STALKER!" yells Apollo before returning to his extra ambrosia.

"See?" Artemis says to Will.

"**Watching me?"**

"**Keeping tabs on you. Making sure you were okay. But I wasn't faking being your friend," he added hastily. "I **_**am**_** your friend."**

"**Um… what **_**are**_** you, exactly?"**

"The age-old question," Nico declares dramatically.

"Nico, sometimes I wonder why I hang out with you," Thalia comments casually.

Artemis looks alarmed. "But aren't you the lieutenant of the Hunters? Shouldn't you have better things to do than hanging out with boys?"

"With all due respect, Lady Artemis, Nico is my cousin, unfortunately, and cousins spend time together," Thalia explains patiently. "We have no romantic relationship whatsoever."

"Thank the gods," mutters Nico.

"Alright, but you better focus on your duties," scolds Artemis.

"Yes, my lady," Thalia responds respectfully.

"**That doesn't matter right now."**

"**It doesn't matter? From the waist down, my best friend is a donkey-"**

"Grover won't like that," sings Will.

"Nice singing voice, kid," Apollo says approvingly.

"Thanks, Dad," Will answers, rolling his eyes. Thank the gods he didn't inherit his father's personality… he'd probably be in a mental institution by now.

**Grover let out a sharp, throaty "**_**Blaa-ha-ha**_**!"**

**I'd heard him make that sound before, but I'd always assumed it was a nervous laugh. Now I realized it was more of an irritated bleat.**

"**Goat!" he cried.**

"**What?"**

"See?" Will says triumphantly.

"Not too much to be triumphant about, Will. We all knew that," Thalia says, sounding as if she were talking to a three-year-old.

"**I'm a **_**goat**_** from the waist down."**

"**You just said it didn't matter."**

"_**Blaa-ha-ha**_**! There are satyrs who would trample you underhoof for such an insult!"**

"And he probably would too, if they weren't in a car," Katie jokes.

"**Whoa. Wait. Satyrs? You mean like… Mr. Brunner's myths?"**

"MYTHS?" thunders Zeus, his grey eyes furious.

"Father, sit _down_. I'm sure Grover will correct him," Thalia says soothingly.

Zeus growls, but sits down. Apparently Grover wasn't a good enough excuse for him.

"**Were those old ladies at the fruit stand a **_**myth**_**, Percy? Was Mrs. Dodds a myth?"**

Zeus grumbles under his breath. Thalia was right.

"**So you **_**admit**_** there was a Mrs. Dodds!"**

"**Of course."**

"**Then why-"**

"**The less you knew, the fewer monsters you'd attract," Grover said, like that should be perfectly obvious. "We put Mist over the humans' eyes. We hoped you'd think the Kindly One was a hallucination. **

"With his lying? No way," Hermes proclaims, grabbing for a square of Apollo's ambrosia.

"Dude! DAAAAAAAAAAD, Hermes took my ambrosia!" Apollo whines to Zeus.

"Shut up and listen, Apollo," Zeus replies.

**But it was no good. You started to realize who you are."**

"**Who I – wait a minute, what do you mean?"**

"That you're a son of the craziest, most demented god there ever was," Zeus says.

"Nope, that you're _not_ a child of the god that looks so much like a rock, Kronos wasn't even fazed when he ate the rock," Poseidon retorts with a straight face.

"Ooh, Dad, you just got _owned_!" yells Apollo.

**The weird bellowing noise rose up again somewhere behind us, closer than before. Whatever was chasing us was still on our trail.**

"**Percy," my mom said, "there's too much to explain and not enough time. We have to get you to safety."**

"**Safety from what? Who's after me?"**

"**Oh, nobody much," Grover said, obviously still miffed about the donkey comment. "Just the Lord of the Dead and a few of his blood-thirstiest minions."**

"HADES!" yells Poseidon, his sea-green eyes flashing fire.

"Whoa, Poseidon! Calm down! I haven't actually _done_ anything yet," Hades pleads.

Poseidon still glares.

"**Grover!"**

"**Sorry, Mrs. Jackson. Could you drive faster, please?"**

**I tried to wrap my mind around what was happening, but I couldn't do it.**

"Of course he couldn't. He's Seaweed Brain," Annabeth says fondly.

Athena looks at her daughter suspiciously, noting the fond tone.

"We're only best friends, Mother," Annabeth says quickly, sensing the suspicious look.

Thalia giggles, but it isn't lost on Annabeth, who kicks her… _hard_ in the shin.

**I knew this wasn't a dream. I had no imagination.**

The demigods snort. "No imagination? You got that right," Clarisse says.

"That's my girl!" yells Ares.

"If you two don't stop _now_, you'll be treated to a wonderful shower of the most freezing water I can muster," Poseidon says measurably and threateningly. "He is _missing_. Stop insulting him."

Slightly scared, Ares and his daughter nod furiously.

**I could never dream up something this weird.**

**My mom made a hard left. We swerved onto a narrower road, racing past darkened farmhouses and wooded hills and PICK YOUR OWN STRAWBERRIES signs on white picket fences.**

The demigods smile wistfully at the reminder of Camp Half-Blood.

"**Where are we going?" I asked.**

"**The summer camp I told you about." My mother's voice was tight; she was trying for my sake not to be scared.**

"What a wonderful mother," Hera murmurs.

"Why can't you be like that?" Hephaestus teases, but he winks to ensure that he is joking. They had had a conversation, and mother and son were on better terms now.

Hera smiles wryly.

"**The place your father wanted to send you."**

"Wanted? He better go, or he'd die," Clarisse says.

"**The place you didn't want me to go."**

"Is the boy _trying_ to make his mother feel sad?" Hera asks.

"**Please, dear," my mother begged. "This hard enough. Try to understand. You're in danger."**

"**Because some old ladies cut yarn."**

Nico shakes his head. "Only Percy would say that after encountering the Fates." But he is smiling.

"**Those weren't old ladies," Grover said.**

"Actually, they _are_ quite old," Aphrodite says casually. The Fates weren't exactly her best friends, but they weren't anyone's.

"**Those were the Fates. Do you know what it means – the fact they appeared in front of you?**

"He's going to scare the boy," Persephone sighs. "Satyrs."

Poseidon looks pretty scared himself, even if he already knew what it meant.

**They only do that when you're about to… when someone's about to die."**

"**Whoa. You said 'you.'"**

"**No I didn't. I said 'someone.'"**

"**You meant 'you'. As in **_**me**_**."**

"**I meant **_**you**_**, like 'someone.' Not you, **_**you**_**."**

"Wait… what?" Apollo asks, looking up from his nearly empty ambrosia bowl.

Artemis slaps him upside the head. "Shut up, little brother. Go on, Athena."

Apollo pouts. "You like Athena better than you like me, your twin."

"CHILDREN! Now is not the time," Zeus yells.

The three said gods look miffed at being called children, but Athena reads anyway.

"**Boys!" my mom said.**

**She pulled the wheel hard to the right, and I got a glimpse of a figure she'd swerved to avoid – a dark fluttering shape now lost behind us in the storm.**

"**What was that?" I asked.**

"**We're almost there," my mother said, ignoring my question. "Another mile. Please. Please."**

Poseidon closes his eyes, chanting the same word over and over again. Please.

**I didn't know where **_**there**_** was, but I found myself leaning forward in the car, anticipating, wanting us to arrive.**

"Good," Hermes says, not bothering to joke, sensing the rising tension in the throne room.

**Outside, nothing but rain and darkness – the kind of empty countryside you get way out on the tip of Long Island. I thought about Mrs. Dodds and the moment when she'd changed into the thing**

"Thing? Kindly Ones are not _things_," Hades snaps, but no one bothers to tell him off.

**with pointed teeth and leathery wings. My limbs went numb from delayed shock. She really **_**hadn't**_** been human. She'd meant to kill me.**

"You don't say," Apollo says sarcastically, earning a shower that soaks him to the skin.

The demigods don't say a word, not even Clarisse. Maybe just because she was anticipating a battle like her father, but whatever.

**Then I thought about Mr. Brunner… and the sword he'd thrown me. Before I could ask Grover about that, the hair rose on the back of my neck.**

"Battle!" cries Ares.

The others, even the demigods who knew what would happen, lean forward to better hear Athena.

**There was a blinding flash, a jaw-rattling **_**boom!**_**, and our car exploded.**

**I remember feeling weightless, like I was being crushed, fried, and hosed down all at the same time.**

Everyone winces.

"Unpleasant," surmises Hephaestus.

**I peeled my forehead off the back of the driver's seat and said, "Ow."**

Some of the Olympians laugh nervously, while the demigods (minus Clarisse, though she does have a small smile) shake their heads fondly.

"Only Percy," says Katie.

"Yup," Thalia agrees.

"**Percy!" my mom shouted.**

"**I'm okay…."**

**I tried to shake off the daze. I wasn't dead. The car hadn't really exploded. We'd swerved into a ditch. Our driver's-side doors were wedged in the mud. The roof had cracked open like an eggshell and rain was pouring in.**

**Lightning.**

"ZEUS!" explodes Poseidon, picking up his trident. It boils with blue energy at the tips.

Zeus flinches and tries weakly, "I haven't done anything yet?"

"What is with you and killing innocent people?" Hades questions, no doubt thinking of Maria.

"Innocent?" Zeus asks skeptically. "Innocent? You call the women who bore your illegitimate children innocent?" he demands of his brothers.

"Yes! They are innocent! If Percy, Grover, and Sally had died, I swear you'd have the fight of your life," Poseidon growls.

"Grover? That miserable, failing satyr?" snorts Zeus.

"Father, Grover DID NOT FAIL!" yells Thalia, standing. "And attempting to kill Percy, Grover, and Sally is unacceptable!"

Everyone looks in awe at the demigod who dared defy Zeus.

Zeus deflates, but still looks moodily at the ceiling.

"Childish," Hades mutters. "Keep reading, Athena."

**That was the only explanation. We'd been blasted right off the road. Next to me in the backseat was a big motionless lump.** **"Grover!"**

**He was slumped over, blood trickling from the side of his mouth.**

"Useless satyr," spits Zeus.

"Father!"

**I shook his furry hip, thinking, No! Even if you are half barnyard animal, you're my best friend and I don't want you to die!**

"Die! War! Fight!" chants Ares.

Aphrodite sends a scathing look at him. "Shut it, you insensitive brat. Percy's being sweet, which you obviously don't know how to do."

"But you love me anyway," Ares teases, winking at her.

As an answer, Aphrodite glares at him. "No."

No one catches Hephaestus's overjoyed look except Hera, who smiles softly.

**Then he groaned "Food," and I knew there was hope.**

Nervous laughter rings around the throne room, but otherwise, everyone looks terrified… except Zeus and Hades and Apollo (immersed in his ambrosia) and Hermes and Hephaestus… well, okay, except every god except Poseidon.

"**Percy," my mother said, "we have to…" Her voice faltered.**

**I looked back. In a flash of lightning,**

Poseidon growls, glaring at Zeus.

**through the mud-spattered rear windshield, I saw a figure lumbering toward us on the shoulder of the road. The sight of it made my skin crawl. It was a dark silhouette of a huge guy, like a football player. He seemed to be holding a blanket over his head. His top half was bulky and fuzzy. His upraised hands made it look like he had horns.**

Athena begins putting two and two together, her mind whirling, while her daughter pales.

**I swallowed hard. "Who is-"**

"**Percy," my mother said, deadly serious. "Get out of the car."**

**My mother threw herself against the driver's-side door. It was jammed shut in the mud. I tried mine. Stuck too. I looked up desperately at the hole in the roof. It might've been an exit, but the edges were sizzling and smoking.**

"**Climb out the passenger's side!" my mother told me. "Percy – you have to run. Do you see that big tree?"**

Zeus blanches at the mention of his daughter's tree. Thalia, seeing this, says softly, "Father, I'm no longer a tree, remember?"

Hera snorts. "Unfortunate."

"Mother," warns Hephaestus.

Thalia glares at her stepmother.

"_**What?**_**" **

**Another flash of lightning, and through the smoking hole in the roof I saw the tree she mean: a huge, White House Christmas tree-sized pine at the crest of the nearest hill.**

The demigods smile sadly, except Clarisse, who stares straight ahead, her face impassive.

"**That's the property line," my mom said. "Get over that hill and you'll see a big farmhouse down in the valley. Run and don't look back. Yell for help. Don't stop until you reach the door.**

"Camp Half-Blood!" cheers Will.

Artemis stares at him. "Maybe you're more like your father than I originally thought. That's not good," she observes, looking at her nephew.

Apollo polishes off his ambrosia and reaches over, clapping his son on the back. "That's my boy!" he chants.

"**Mom, you're coming too."**

"Aw, he's so sweet," coos Aphrodite.

"She won't be able to cross the property line anyway," Ares replies.

Aphrodite glares. "It's the thought that counts. Now shut up."

"He's such a sweet boy," comments Hera.

The others exchange glances. It was the original Jason all over again… kind of.

**Her face was pale,**

As is Poseidon's.

**her eyes sad as when she looked at the ocean.**

"See? She's still sweet on Uncle P!" Hermes yells.

"Not anymore," Annabeth mutters to Thalia and Nico, who nod.

"**No!" I shouted. "You **_**are**_** coming with me. Help me carry Grover."**

"Son, just go. She wants you to," Poseidon tells the book sadly.

"He's such a good father," murmurs Katie to the other demigods.

They nod, slightly envious. Percy got the special treatment from his godly parent.

"**Food!" Grover moaned, a little louder.**

That lifts the tension in the room slightly.

**The man with the blanket on his head kept coming toward us, making his grunting, snorting noises. As he got closer, I realized he **_**couldn't**_** be holding a blanket over his head, because his hands – huge meaty hands – were swinging at his sides. There was no blanket. Meaning the bulky, fuzzy mass that was too big to be his head… was his head. And the points that looked like horns…**

"Minotaur," Athena and Poseidon conclude together.

Poseidon doesn't even spare his niece a glare, looking at the book intently.

"Athena, read before Poseidon unleashes the four oceans on us," Zeus orders quickly.

"**He doesn't want **_**us**_**," my mother told me. "He wants you.**

"Cheerful," Clarisse comments.

**Besides, I can't cross the property line."**

"**But…"**

"**We don't have time, Percy. Go. Please."**

**I got mad, then – mad at my mother, at Grover the goat,**

"Satyr," corrects Annabeth softly and half-heartedly.

**at the thing with horns that was lumbering toward us slowly and deliberately like, like a bull.**

"Definitely the Minotaur," says Hades.

Poseidon glares.

**I climbed across Grover and pushed the door open into the rain. "We're going together. Come on, Mom."**

"**I told you-"**

"**Mom! I am not leaving you. Help me with Grover."**

"So sweet. This one has had enough cereal," Demeter remarks, glaring pointedly at the Lord of the Dead.

**I didn't wait for her answer. I scrambled outside, dragging Grover from the car. He was surprisingly light, but I couldn't have carried him far if my mom hadn't come to my aid.**

**Together, we draped Grover's arms over our shoulders and started stumbling uphill through wet waist-high grass.**

"Tell Dionysus to get that grass cut," snaps Zeus to Hermes.

"Yes, Father."

**Glancing back, I got my first clear look at the monster. He was seven feet tall, easy, his arms and legs like something from the cover of **_**Muscle Man**_** magazine –**

"He would make that connection," smiles Will.

"Seaweed Brain," adds Annabeth fondly.

Thalia laughs. "Oh, Percy."

**bulging biceps and triceps and a bunch of other 'ceps, all stuffed like baseballs under vein-webbed skin. He wore no clothes except underwear – I mean, bright white Fruit of the Looms –**

This successfully set off the gods and demigods, cutting through the tension.

"The Minotaur wears underwear?" jokes Hermes.

"Leave it to Percy," Katie says.

**which would've looked funny, except that the top half of his body was so scary. Coarse brown hair started at about his belly button and got thicker as it reached his shoulders.**

**His neck was a mass of muscle and fur leading up to his enormous head, which had a snout as long as my arm, snotty nostrils with a gleaming brass ring, cruel black eyes, and horns – enormous black-and-white horns with points you just couldn't get from an electric sharpener.**

The demigods are shivering in fear, except for Clarisse, who does have fear hidden in her eyes.

Annabeth laughs dryly, trying to shake off the feeling of fear. "Only Percy could crack a joke at this time."

Katie nods. "That's something the Demeter cabin always liked about him. He can lift tension like it weighs nothing less than a puff of cotton."

"My demigod children like the son of _him_?" Demeter questions, pointing at Poseidon.

Poseidon looks at her, offended. "Hey!"

Katie nods at her mother. "We do. He _is_ a-"

Thalia cuts her off by clapping a hand over Katie's mouth. "We can't tell you what he is. Beside a crazy demigod we call our cousin," she says sweetly, gesturing to herself and Nico.

Demeter huffs. "You children need more cereal to improve your taste in friends."

**I recognized the monster, all right. He had been in one of the first stories Mr. Brunner told us. But he couldn't be real.**

"Oh, he is real," Hades says darkly.

**I blinked the rain out of my eyes. "That's-"**

"**Pasiphae's son," my mother said.**

"She really is smart. Names have power. And being so close to one…" Athena trails off. "Remind me again why this brilliant mortal fell for _you_ of all people, Poseidon?"

"Would you rather she fell for _you_?" teases Poseidon, trying to get his mind off of what could possibly be his son's death.

Athena glares. "Shut up, Kelp-for-Brains. I'm just saying that she's a really smart mortal, in contrast to you."

"Lady Athena, Lord Poseidon, with all due respect, I'd like to see if Percy survives or not," Will interrupts politely.

The Goddess of Wisdom and the God of the Seas turn to face Apollo's son.

"I do too," Poseidon admits.

"Read, please, Mother," Annabeth requests.

"**I wish I'd known how badly they want to kill you."**

"Of course we want to kill you! You're living proof of the oath being broken!" Hades yells.

Poseidon glares.

Annabeth sees his gaze and shrinks back, her mind whirling with thoughts of Percy. Father and son looked so much alike. Guessing her thoughts, both Katie and Thalia move to place arms around the Architect of Olympus.

"**But he's the Min-"**

"**Don't say his name," she warned. "Names have power."**

Athena pauses reading just long enough to give an approving nod. This mortal could prove to be a good priestess of hers, but the boy needed her, she supposed.

**The pine tree was still way too far – a hundred yards uphill at least.**

**I glanced behind me again.**

"No! Just run!" prods Nico.

**The bull-man hunched over our car, looking in the windows – or not looking, exactly. More like sniffing, nuzzling. I wasn't sure why he bothered, since we were only about fifty feet away.**

"His sight and hearing are terrible," Athena begins.

"So he goes by smell," finishes Annabeth, earning a proud smile from her mother before the goddess begins to read again.

"**Food?" Grover moaned.**

"Stupid satyr," mumbles Zeus.

"_Father_!" Thalia cries, exasperated.

"**Shhh," I told him. "Mom, what's he doing? Doesn't he see us?"**

"**His sight and hearing are terrible," she said. "He goes by smell. But he'll figure out where we are soon enough."**

Athena nods. "She is a very smart mortal, as I've said before. Maybe I can get her as a priestess…"

"No," Hera says sharply. "The boy needs his mother."

"Perhaps. That's what I was thinking," allows Athena.

She drifts into thought before Zeus snaps, "Athena! Read!"

**As if on cue, the bull-man bellowed in rage.**

Poseidon flinches.

**He picked up Gabe's Camaro by the torn roof, the chassis creaking and groaning. He raised the car over his head and threw it down on the road. It slammed into the wet asphalt and skidded in a shower of sparks for about half a mile before coming to a stop. The gas tank exploded.**

_**Not a scratch,**_** I remembered Gabe saying.**

"Oops," Poseidon, Hermes, Apollo, Will, Nico, Thalia, and Katie say.

**Oops.**

Poseidon, Hermes, Apollo, Will, Nico, Thalia, and Katie grin.

"**Percy," my mom said. "When he sees us, he'll charge. Wait until the last second, then jump out of the way – directly sideways. He can't change directions very well once he's charging. Do you understand?"**

Athena pauses, and silence covers the throne room.

"That's amazing," comments Aphrodite.

"She knows how to fight a 'mythological'" – Athena draws air quotes – "monster better than a goddess," she remarks, pointing at Aphrodite.

Aphrodite scowls. "Well, I _am_ the Goddess of _Love_ and _Beauty_, not battle strategy," she snaps.

"You're right! _I_ am!" chirps Athena.

"Will you two be quiet? We're not arguing about what you're the goddess of. We already know that," Artemis says snappishly.

Athena looks at her in surprise. "Artemis?"

"Artemis speaks the truth. We know that this mere mortal is quite extraordinary. Now, Athena, please read," Zeus orders his daughter.

"**How do you know all this?"**

"**I've been worried about an attack for a long time. I should have expected this. I was selfish, keeping you near me."**

"No she wasn't," Demeter says. "She was being a mother, and a mother deserves to have her child by her side for eternity." Here she glares at Hades.

"Demeter, please," Zeus snaps, rubbing his temple. "You are giving me a headache. And Persephone is also my daughter; you don't see _me_ complaining, do you?"

"That's because you have so many illegitimate children, you couldn't care less," Demeter replies sharply, her eyes flashing.

"Thank you for the reminder, sister dear," Hera intervenes bitterly.

"Mother, be _quiet_ so Athena can read," Persephone demands.

Demeter looks at her, surprised. "See what you've done with her?" she yells at Hades. "She's acting… she's acting like…"

"A queen?" suggests Hades slyly.

Demeter flies into a rage, about to kill Hades, immortal or not, when Katie stands. "Mother! You heard Persephone. I'd like to see whether or not my friend survives!"

"**Keeping me near you? But-"**

**Another bellow of rage, and the bull-man started tromping uphill.**

**He'd smelled us.**

Athena pauses, wary of an interruption, but everyone, even Zeus and Hades, are so engrossed in the story, no one bothers to interrupt.

**The pine tree was only a few more yards, but the hill was getting steeper and slicker, and Grover wasn't getting any lighter.**

**The bull-man closed in. Another few seconds and he'd be on top of us.**

**My mother must've been exhausted, but she shouldered Grover. "Go, Percy! Separate! Remember what I said."**

"She's very brave," Artemis says.

**I didn't want to split up, but I had the feeling she was right – it was our only chance.**

"Of course she's right! Mothers know best!" screeches Demeter, still angry about how the two of her daughters present had overruled her and Hades got off unscathed.

"MOTHER!" Persephone and Katie yell in unison.

**I sprinted to the left, turned, and saw the creature bearing down on me. His black eyes glowed with hate. He reeked like rotten meat.**

Aphrodite crinkles her nose.

**He lowered his head and charged, those razor-sharp horns aimed straight at my chest.**

"If my son dies, Hades…" Poseidon trails off, leaving the threat hanging ominously in the air.

Hades gulps, scraping his temporary throne back slightly.

**The fear in my stomach made me want to bolt, but that wouldn't work. I could never outrun this thing. So I held my ground, and at the last moment, I jumped to the side.**

Poseidon exhales loudly.

"It's not over yet," Zeus reminds him.

**The bull-man stormed past me like a freight train, then bellowed with frustration and turned, but not toward me this time, toward my mother, who was setting Grover down in the grass.**

Poseidon now inhales sharply.

**We'd reached the crest of the hill. Down the other side I could see a valley, just as my mother had said, and the lights of a farmhouse glowing yellow through the rain. But that was half a mile away. We'd never make it.**

"Pessimistic much?" Ares asks to no response.

**The bull-man grunted, pawing the ground. He kept eyeing my mother, who was now retreating slowly downhill, back toward the road, trying to lead the monster away from Grover.**

"Is she… _sacrificing _herself?" exclaims Hephaestus.

"**Run, Percy!" she told me. "I can't go any farther. Run!"**

**But I just stood there, frozen in fear, as the monster charged her.**

Annabeth, Nico, and Thalia yelp. Percy had always glossed over this part in the story, and now they would learn the truth.

"Just _go_, Percy!" encourages Will futilely.

**She tried to sidestep, as she'd told me to do, but the monster had learned his lesson.**

The goddesses, demigods, and Poseidon pale.

**His hand shot out and grabbed her by the neck as she tried to get away. He lifted her as she struggled, kicking and pummeling the air.**

"HADES!" roars Poseidon. "YOU SENT THAT MINOTAUR TO ABDUCT SALLY, DIDN'T YOU? TO BRING HER TO THE UNDERWORLD?"

Hades shrugs. "I don't know, brother. You see, this is in the future."

Poseidon growls. "IF YOU DO THIS IN THE FUTURE, I SWEAR I WILL CAST YOU TO THE DEPTHS OF TARTARUS TO VISIT OUR DARLING FATHER!"

"**Mom!" **

**She caught my eyes, managed to choke out one last word: "Go!"**

"That poor woman! Her last act is to try to save her son," weeps Demeter.

"And you wouldn't do that?" Persephone asks venomously.

"My dear Persephone, did I or did I not bring the earth the worst drought in history when you went missing?" Demeter demands.

"I still don't understand that, Mother. You were willing to sacrifice thousands of lives for just one: mine."

"So you're saying you'd rather I left it alone and didn't try looking for you?" Demeter snaps.

Before his daughter could answer, Zeus shouts, "SILENCE! Now is _not_ the time to bicker about the past! Read, Athena!"

**Then, with an angry roar, the monster closed his fists around my mother's neck, and she dissolved before my eyes, melting into light, a shimmering golden form, as if she were a holographic projection. A blinding flash, and she was simply… gone.**

"NO!" yells Poseidon. "HADES!"

"Poseidon, I didn't do it yet, so can we please maintain peace for a bit?" pleads Hades, scared.

Poseidon scowls at him.

"**No!"**

**Anger replaced my fear. Newfound strength burned in my limbs – the same rush of energy I'd gotten when Mrs. Dodds grew talons.**

**The bull-man bore down on Grover, who lay helpless in the grass. The monster hunched over, snuffling my best friend, as if he were about to lift Grover up and make him dissolve too.**

"That would make a lot of lives better," mutters Zeus bitterly.

The demigods exchange looks, knowing Grover's title now. "Father, please. Can't we just read about Grover _without_ you blasting him with insults every time?" Thalia asks.

**I couldn't allow that.**

"Darn," Zeus mumbles.

"_FATHER_!" yells Thalia.

**I stripped off my red rain jacket.**

"**Hey!" I screamed, waving the jacket, running to one side of the monster. "Hey, stupid! Ground beef!"**

Everyone laughs.

"Terrible," Ares comments, but he too is laughing.

"**Raaaarrrrr!" The monster turned toward me, shaking his meaty fists.**

**I had an idea – a stupid idea, but better than no idea at all.**

"Good!" Nico says.

"It's good that he has a stupid idea?" Hermes questions, confused.

The six demigods nod furiously.

"See, Prissy has all kinds of ideas. But his stupid ones are the only ones that ever work," explains Clarisse.

**I put my back to the big pine tree and waved my red jacket in front of the bull-man, thinking I'd jump out of the way at the last moment.**

The demigods deflate.

"Not going to work," groans Annabeth. How in Hades did her boyfriend get out of that alive?"

"Apparently this is one of his stupid plans failed," Will mumbles.

**But it didn't happen like that.**

"Of course it didn't," Poseidon grumbles.

**The bull-man charged too fast, his arms out to grab me whichever way I tried to dodge.**

**Time slowed down.**

**My legs tensed. I couldn't jump sideways, so I leaped straight up, kicking off from the creature's head, using it as a springboard, turning in midair, and landing on his neck.**

**How did I do that? I didn't have time to figure it out. A millisecond later, the monster's head slammed into the tree and the impact nearly knocked my teeth out.**

Thalia winces.

**The bull-man staggered around, trying to shake me. I locked my arms around his horns to keep from being thrown. Thunder and lightning were still going strong. The rain was in my eyes. The smell of rotten meat burned my nostrils.**

Again, Aphrodite crinkles her nose and gags.

**The monster shook himself around and bucked like a rodeo bull. He should have just backed up into the tree and smashed me flat, but I was starting to realize that this thing had only one gear: forward.**

**Meanwhile, Grover started groaning in the grass. I wanted to yell at him to shut up, but the way I was getting tossed around, if I opened my mouth, I'd bit my own tongue off.**

"**Food!" Grover moaned.**

Thalia, seeing her father about to make a comment, quickly says, "Please read on, Lady Athena."

Zeus scowls at his daughter, but she ignores it.

**The bull-man wheeled toward him, pawed the ground again, and got ready to charge. I thought about how he had squeezed the life out of my mother, made her disappear in a flash of light, and rage filled me like a high-octane field. I got both hands around one horn and I pulled backward with all my might. The monster tensed, gave a surprised grunt, then – **_**snap!**_

**The bull-man screamed and flung me through the air. I landed flat on my back in the grass. My head smacked against a rock.**

The demigods flinch. Head-to-rock contact… not good.

"Is that why Percy seems so brain-addled?" Nico asks innocently.

**When I sat up, my vision was blurry, but I had a horn in my hands, a ragged bone weapon the size of a knife.**

**The monster charged.**

Everyone drew in a breath, even Zeus and Hades, who were so caught up that they didn't remember that they wanted the boy dead.

**Without thinking, I rolled to one side and came up kneeling. As the monster barreled past, I drove the broken horn straight into his side, right up under his furry rib cage.**

**The bull-man roared in agony. He flailed, clawing at his chest, and then began to disintegrate – not like my mother, in a flash of golden light, but like crumbling sand, blown away in chunks by the wind, the same way Mrs. Dodds had burst apart.**

**The monster was gone.**

Silence reigns in the throne room. Athena had stopped reading due to her shock.

The first to recover is Ares. "Well, that was some good action!" he yells happily.

Clarisse recovers next, agreeing wholeheartedly with her father by nodding enthusiastically.

Athena recovers third. "That is quite impressive."

"Defeating the Minotaur at age twelve? Quite," agrees Artemis. "If he was a girl, I'd be recruiting him for the Hunters in a heartbeat."

"See, Arty? Boys _can_ be decent!" cheers Apollo.

Artemis glares. "_DON'T CALL ME ARTY_!" Her bow and quiver appear, a silver arrow already notched.

Apollo shrinks back. "Sorry!"

"He's alive," Poseidon marvels.

"Those were some good moves," Hephaestus nods.

**The rain had stopped. The storm still rumbled, but only in the distance. I smelled like livestock and my knees were shaking. My head felt like it was splitting open. I was weak and scared and trembling with grief. I'd just seen my mother vanish. I wanted to lie down and cry, but there was Grover, needing my help, so I managed to haul him up and stagger down into the valley, toward the lights of the farmhouse. I was crying, calling for my mother, but I held onto Grover – I wasn't going to let him go.**

Ares didn't dare call the kid a wimp, seeing as he had just defeated the Minotaur at twelve, and he didn't fancy taking another shower.

**The last thing I remember is collapsing on a wooden porch, looking up at a ceiling fan circling above me, moths flying around a yellow light, and the stern faces of a familiar-looking bearded man,**

"Chiron," Aphrodite confirms.

**and a pretty girl, her blond hair curled like a princess's.**

"One of my daughters?" Aphrodite asks excitedly.

Annabeth scowls. "With all your deserved respect, Lady Aphrodite, have you not looked at me since we came?"

Aphrodite looks at her, surprised. "Of course I have, Annabeth- _oh_!" She comes to the realization too late.

"Very smooth, Aphrodite," snaps Athena in irritation before attempting to complete the chapter.

**They both looked down at me, and the girl said, "He's the one. He must be."**

"Ooh," teases Aphrodite, using the double meaning.

Annabeth blushes while her mother snaps, "Aphrodite! Shut up!"

"**Silence, Annabeth," the man said. "He's still conscious. Bring him inside."**

Athena closes the book, about to ask who was going to read next, and before anyone could comment on the first action-packed chapter, the throne room is enveloped in a blinding white light.

x.o.x.o.x.

**A/N: Done! What do you suppose the light means? Leave me some love or hate or like or dislike! Love you all!**


	5. I Play Pinochle With a Horse

A/N: Okay, this is kind of fast! I've ignored one of my fics completely, but I'll get to that later. It's so much better with only three or four fics to update instead of five. Anyway, enjoy!

x.o.x.o.x.

Once the bright flash disappears, the throne room's setup looks completely different. The thrones were almost exactly the same, but they aren't exactly the thrones. There are two buttons on the left armrest that are marked _Human_ and _God_. The thrones are set up in a semi-circle with Zeus and Hera at the head, Zeus on the left and Hera on the right. On Zeus's left is Poseidon, on Poseidon's left is Hades, on Hades' left is Hephaestus, next to Hephaestus is Ares, next to Ares is Apollo, then comes Hermes, and finally, Dionysus, who seems to have appeared and is slumbering loudly in his throne.

On Hera's right is Demeter, on Demeter's right is Hestia who also seems to have appeared, on Hestia's right is Persephone, on Persephone's right is Aphrodite, on Aphrodite's right is Athena, and finally Artemis. On Athena's lap is the book, which seems to not have moved at all during the white flash.

But before them is another semicircle of simple gold, straight-backed chairs that look throne-like in human size. They are all empty. The demigods from before had disappeared completely.

"What is going on?" exclaims Zeus, looking immediately at Athena.

Athena shrugs. "I'm sorry, Father, I have no idea." Just then, a note floats onto Athena's lap. "Once you finish reading this, demigods will appear from the same time as the last demigods. They will also be here. Signed, a friend."

The moment the last word floats off her lips, a figure drops into a chair in front of them. Athena immediately recognizes her.

"Annabeth!"

Annabeth looks around and grins. "I'm back? We were just sucked into this portal and into a blank white room with a whole lot of other demigods."

Hera groans. "More demigods?" She glares venomously at Annabeth, who just shrugs it off as she resumes her seat.

Next, Thalia appears, taking her own seat to the left of Annabeth. Nico appears on the left of Thalia, Katie on the left of Nico, Will on the left of Katie, and Clarisse on the left of Will.

Two figures drop from the ceiling into their seats.

"Introduce yourselves," Annabeth instructs them.

"We're Travis-"

"- and Connor-"

"-Stoll, sons of-"

"-Hermes!" finishes the twin named Connor, before the twins take the last two seats, leaving two empty.

"Those are my boys!" yells Hermes proudly.

"How do you know where to sit?" questions Artemis.

"Our names are inscribed on the backs of these," replies Annabeth, twisting to show her name in fancy script scrawled across the back of her chair.

Then a girl in tattered jeans a T-shirt appears. "Introduce yourself," Thalia repeats Annabeth's earlier words, smiling.

"Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite," complies the newcomer.

Aphrodite's eyes widen. "You're my daughter?" she squeaks.

Piper looks offended. "Hi, Mom," she says sarcastically. "I know I'm not a typical daughter of Aphrodite, wearing barely-there designer dresses and clunky designer shoes, but I _am_ your daughter. And in the future, you're proud of me."

"Then I guess it's okay," Aphrodite relents, looking her over. Piper is very pretty, she muses, just without proper groom and care.

Her daughter takes the seat to the left of Clarisse, keeping one space between her and Travis Stoll.

A figure drops from the ceiling again. Straightening, he doesn't hesitate or needs a prompt. "Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus."

Hephaestus smiles slightly at his son as he takes a seat beside Piper.

Annabeth looks up, and just as she was about to say something, a girl falls from the ceiling into the head right seat, a seat away from Annabeth.

"I'm Reyna, daughter of Bellona, Praetor of the Twelfth Legion, and Senator of New Rome," she declares. Directly in her line of vision is Queen Hera or Juno as she knows her.

The gods flicker to their Roman aspects for a moment before flickering back.

"So we'll be having Romans and Greeks?" Ares asks. "Good. I like Mars better anyway."

"Stay Greek, Ares," snaps Zeus.

A boy falls from the ceiling next. "Jason Grace, son of Jupiter, former Praetor of the Twelfth Legion, defeater of the Titan Krios, and Hero of Olympus."

"ZEUS!" Hades and Poseidon yell.

"YOU BROKE THE OATH _TWICE_?" Poseidon shouts.

"I cannot believe this!" Hades fumes.

Before they could further berate their youngest brother, a girl falls from the ceiling into the seat to the right of Jason. "Hazel Levesque, daughter of Pluto, Hero of Olympus, Rider of Arion."

"HADES!" Zeus shouts.

"I'm resurrected," Hazel quickly says before sinking back.

A boy now falls into the seat to the right of Hazel. "Frank Zhang, son of Mars, Legacy of Poseidon, Hero of Olympus."

Ares/Mars (he had flickered) smiles gruffly at the boy.

And to fill the third-to-last seat, the person falls from above. "Octavian, augur of Camp Jupiter, Legacy of Apollo, centurion of the first cohort."

Apollo beams as another figure falls from the sky to sit at the end, beside Connor Stoll.

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare, a mortal" – Octavian snorts – "and I host the spirit of the Oracle of Delphi."

Apollo shoots out of his seat. "WOOP! My Oracle got a new body and she's _hot!_"

Rachel blushes as she sinks further back into her seat. Hermes blanches, remembering May's attempt to host the same spirit.

"Whose seat is that?" inquires Poseidon, nodding to the seat between Reyna and Annabeth.

The two girls read the nameplate and Annabeth gasps, turning white.

"Percy Jackson's," Reyna announces, her voice bouncing loudly off the corners of the throne room.

Poseidon's eyebrows shoot up, and he sits forward. "Is he coming?"

As if answering his question, a note floats into Reyna's lap.

"Dear readers, Percy Jackson will not be joining you _this chapter._ However, I would advise you to pause before each chapter, just to make sure he does not come in the middle of a chapter. Signed, a friend," she reads aloud.

Poseidon sighs, leaning back and laying his face in his hands.

Jason smirks. Maybe this Percy guy wasn't what the campers at Camp Half-Blood thought him to be. Maybe he wasn't important enough to appear.

"To recap what we've already read, Percy sliced up a Kindly One, encountered the Fates and the snipping of a thread, lost his mother, and defeated a Minotaur, all at age twelve," Hera informs the newcomers.

Several of them gasp, surprised, but Octavian turns his nose up. "_Greacus_," he sniffs.

Reyna shoots a glare down the row. "Be quiet, Octavian."

"Who would like to read?" Athena asks.

"I would, Mother," answers Annabeth, standing to take the book from her mother.

**I Play Pinochle With a Horse,** Annabeth begins.

"Chiron won't like that," Travis predicts.

"No duh," Connor answers.

**I had weird dreams full of barnyard animals. Most of them wanted to kill me. The rest wanted food.**

The demigods burst out laughing except Jason and Octavian.

"Demigod dreams at the weirdest," Frank pronounces.

**I must've woken up several times, but what I heard and saw made no sense, so I just passed out again. I remember lying in a soft bed, being spoon-fed something that tasted like buttered popcorn, only it was pudding. The girl with curly blond hair**

Thalia nudges Annabeth teasingly, who snaps, "Let me read, Thalia."

"Testy, testy," Thalia whispers to Nico, giggling.

**hovered over me, smirking as she scraped drips off my chin with the spoon.**

**When she saw my eyes open, she asked, "What will happen at the summer solstice?"**

The gods all frown.

**I managed to croak, "What?"**

**She looked around, as if afraid someone would overhear. "What's going on? What was stolen? We've only got a few weeks!"**

"Annabeth, what in Hades are you talking about?" Athena cries, frustrated that her brain couldn't work it out.

"HEY! I'm sitting right here," Hades points out bitterly, as Annabeth simply shrugs mysteriously and returns to the book.

"**I'm sorry," I mumbled, "I don't…"**

**Somebody knocked on the door, and the girl quickly filled my mouth with pudding.**

**The next time I woke up, the girl was gone.**

"Ooh, Percy's missing Annie Bell!" Aphrodite coos.

"It's _Annabeth_," snaps Annabeth and Athena. Annabeth had liked Aphrodite before, but she was having second thoughts.

"And my son is _not_ missing Owl-Face's daughter," Poseidon adds.

**A husky blond dude, like a surfer, stood in the corner of the bedroom keeping watch over me. He had blue eyes – at least a dozen of them – on his cheeks, his forehead, the backs of his hands.**

The Romans shiver at the unwelcome image in their heads.

"Crazy," murmurs Hazel.

**When I finally came around for good, there was nothing weird about my surroundings, except that they were nicer than I was used to. I was sitting in a deck chair on a huge porch, gazing across a meadow at green hills in the distance. The breeze smelled like strawberries.**

The Greeks sigh happily. That was Camp Half-Blood, their home. Jason just smiles wistfully, and Reyna looks at him intensely.

**There was a blanket over my legs, a pillow behind my neck. All that was great, but my mouth felt like a scorpion had been using it for a nest. My tongue was dry and nasty and every one of my teeth hurt.**

"Wimpy guy," comments Jason lightly.

The Greeks and Romans (except for Octavian, of course) turn on him.

"Don't you _dare_ call Percy a wimpy guy," snaps Annabeth, her grey eyes flashing dangerously.

"If you do, I don't care if you're my baby brother. I will do things to you with my bow and quiver that even I don't want to imagine," adds Thalia sharply.

"He has done amazing things," puts in Katie quietly, not wanting to spill to the Olympians.

**On the table next to me was a tall drink. It looked like iced apple juice, with a green straw and a paper parasol stuck through a maraschino cherry.**

**My hand was so weak I almost dropped the glass once I got my fingers around it.**

"**Careful," a familiar voice said.**

**Grover was leaning against the porch railing, looking like he hadn't slept in a week.**

"He probably hadn't," Nico says sadly.

**Under one arm, he cradled a shoe box. He was wearing blue jeans, Converse hi-tops and a bright orange T-shirt that said CAMP HALF-BLOOD. Just plain old Grover. Not the goat boy.**

"Our nickname for him!" announces Thalia happily.

"You have a nickname for the despicable satyr?" snaps Zeus, his eyes flashing angrily.

"Father, please. Of course we do. He's our friend," Thalia replies patiently, trying to hold off Zeus's temper.

Helping her, Annabeth continues reading.

**So maybe I'd had a nightmare. Maybe my mom was okay. We were still on vacation, and we'd stopped here at this big house for some reason. And…**

"**You saved my life," Grover said. "I… well, the least I could do… I went back to the hill. I thought you might want this."**

**Reverently, he placed the shoe box in my lap.**

**Inside was a black-and-white bull's horn, the base jagged from being broken off, the tip splattered with dried blood. It hadn't been a nightmare.**

"**The Minotaur," I said.**

"Stupid boy. Didn't he listen to a word his mother said? Names have power," Athena scolds.

"Obviously he listened to Sally, otherwise he'd be dead," Poseidon snaps at her.

"**Um, Percy, it isn't a good idea-"**

"**That's what they call him in the Greek myths, isn't it?" I demanded. "The Minotaur. Half man, half bull."**

"Myths?" Zeus thunders.

**Grover shifted uncomfortably. "You've been out for two days. How much do you remember?"**

"**My mom. Is she really…"**

**He looked down.**

Annabeth beams down at the book before continuing to read.

**I stared across the meadow. There were groves of trees, a winding stream, acres of strawberries spread out under the blue sky. **

By now, more of the Greeks had begun to beam.

**The valley was surrounded by rolling hills, and the tallest one, directly in front of us, was the one with the huge pine tree on top. Even that looked beautiful in the sunlight.**

Now all the Greeks and Jason are smiling at the reminder of their Camp Half-Blood while Dionysus grunts in his sleep.

**My mother was gone. The whole world should be black and cold. Nothing should look beautiful.**

Jason softens slightly, wishing that he could have had a mother to love like that. Maybe he _was_ being too harsh on the Percy guy.

"**I'm sorry," Grover sniffled. "I'm a failure. I'm – I'm the worst satyr in the world."**

"A _faun_? This is a _faun_? Fauns have no business near camp!" Octavian exclaims, outraged.

"He's got that right. He _is_ a failure and the worst satyr in the world."

Now Thalia stands and strides over to stand directly in front of her father. "Am I still a pine tree, Father?"

Zeus shakes his head meekly.

"Was it my choice?"

Zeus nods.

"Should you be blaming Grover?"

Zeus nods.

Thalia throws her hands in the air. "Father! It _was not_ Grover's fault! I _chose_ my _own_ path! And I'm no longer dead or a pine tree. I'm alive and breathing and reading this book, in which it mentions Grover multiple times, and I'd _appreciate_ it if you didn't make a _snide comment_ every time it does!"

Zeus looks thunderstruck (no pun intended).

"And you," Thalia adds, whirling toward the semicircle of demigods as she returns to her seat. "Don't insult our ways if you don't want us to insult yours." She glares at Octavian.

**He moaned, stomping his foot so hard it came off. I mean, the Converse hi-top came off. The inside was filled with Styrofoam, except for a hoof-shaped hole.**

The group laughs.

"**Oh, Styx!" he mumbled.**

**Thunder rolled across the clear sky.**

"There goes Dad, all mad!" Apollo shouts. "DUCK FOR COVER!"

Zeus glares at his son.

**As he struggled to get his hoof back in the fake foot, I thought, Well, that settles it.**

**Grover was a satyr. I was ready to be that if I shaved his curly brown hair, I'd find tiny horns on his head.**

Travis and Conner get dreamy looks and mischievous glints in their eyes.

"PRANK IDEA!" they yell in unison, and bend their heads together, whispering and planning.

**But I was too miserable to care that satyrs existed, or even minotaurs. All that meant was my mom really had been squeezed into nothingness, dissolved into yellow light.**

**I was alone. An orphan.**

"Orphan?" snorts Piper.

"He could never be an orphan," adds Reyna.

"Seeing as his dad's immortal and all," finishes Jason.

Reyna smiles slightly at him, but looks away immediately.

**I would have to live with… Smelly Gabe?**

"He will sooner come to the bottom of the ocean to live with me than go with that- that _thing_, ancient laws be damned," Poseidon declares.

Reyna glances at him. Maybe Neptune wasn't so bad after all. Had their Roman roots been wrong?

**No. That would never happen. I would live on the streets first. I would pretend I was seventeen and join the army.**

The demigods burst out laughing, except for Octavian, Piper, Jason, and Leo. Octavian because he despised the hero, and Piper, Leo and Jason because they had never met him.

"Seventeen? That prissy punk pass for seventeen?" chokes Clarisse overdramatically.

**I'd do something.**

**Grover was still sniffling. **

Annabeth pauses, anticipating Zeus's snide comment about Grover, but it was clear that Thalia had gotten through to him. The King of the Gods sits stonily in his throne, clearly restraining himself from voicing his thoughts. Smiling slightly to herself, Annabeth continues.

**The poor kid – poor goat, satyr, whatever – looked as if he expected to be hit.**

"Camp Half-Blood would never hit satyrs," declares Dionysus.

When the Greek demigods and Jason look over to him, he picks up a wine catalog from his armrest and hides himself behind it, as if he hadn't said a word.

**I said, "It wasn't your fault."**

"**Yes, it was. I was supposed to **_**protect **_**you."**

"**Did my mother ask you to protect me?"**

"**No. But that's my job. I'm a keeper. At least… I was."**

"The Greeks use their fauns – _satyrs_ for something?" Reyna inquires curiously.

Frank and Hazel and Octavian looked as though this was the discovery of the century.

Thalia nods. "They're sent out to bring unknowing demigods to Camp Half-Blood safely to train, before monsters start detecting them. Or right when monsters begin to sniff them out. We don't shun them."

Reyna looks thoughtful. "That is a very wise way to run things."

"Greeks aren't bad," Nico says. "We have brains as well."

"**But why…" I suddenly felt dizzy, my vision swimming.**

"**Don't strain yourself," Grover said. "Here."**

**He helped me hold my glass and put the straw to my lips.**

**I recoiled at the taste, because I was expecting apple juice. It wasn't that at all. It was chocolate-chip cookies. Liquid cookies. And not just any cookies – my mom's homemade blue chocolate-chip cookies, buttery and hot, with the chips still melting.**

Annabeth, Nico, Thalia, Apollo, and Hermes were all drooling, but for different reasons.

The three demigods because they had tasted Sally's cookies before, and longed to taste them again. The two gods because-

"NECTAR!" Hermes yells before slipping into a daze.

Persephone sees her mother about to make cereal appear and shoots a hand across Hestia, placing it on her mother's forearm. "_No_, Mother," she says firmly.

Demeter looks at her, amazed. "Kore, what _happened_ to you?"

"We went through this already, Mother. My name is _Persephone_, not Kore. I'm not addressed as Queen Kore, I'm addressed as Queen _Persephone_. And I've ruled over a realm for centuries. I think I have the correct instincts now. Annabeth, be a dear and read?"

**Drinking it, my whole body felt warm and good, full of energy. My grief didn't go away, but I felt as if my mom had just brushed her hand against my cheek, given me a cookie the way she used to when I was small, and told me everything was going to be okay.**

"Mommy's boy," teases Clarisse, but her heart isn't in it.

**Before I knew it, I'd drained the glass. I stared into it, sure I'd just had a warm drink, but the ice cubes hadn't even melted.**

"Ah, the drink of the gods," murmurs Apollo.

"**Was it good?" Grover asked.**

**I nodded.**

"**What did it taste like?" He sounded so wistful, I felt guilty.**

"**Sorry," I said. "I should've let you taste."**

"Satyrs can't," Athena says at once.

**His eyes got wide. "No! That's not what I meant. I just… wondered."**

"**Chocolate-chip cookies," I said. "My mom's. Homemade."**

**He sighed. "And how do you feel?"**

"**Like I could throw Nancy Bobofit a hundred yards."**

"Who's Nancy Bobofit, and is that good?" questions Leo.

"Nancy Bobofit is a mortal girl from Percy's sixth-grade school that isn't pleasant. And yes, it's good," Nico replies.

"**That's good," he said. "That's good. I don't think you could risk drinking any more of that stuff."**

"**What do you mean?"**

"You'd be incinerated," sings Connor.

**He took the empty glass from me gingerly, as if it were dynamite, and set it back on the table. "Come on. Chiron and Mr. D are waiting."**

**The porch wrapped all the way around the farmhouse.**

**My legs felt wobbly, trying to walk that far. Grover offered to carry the Minotaur horn, but I held on to it. I'd paid for that souvenir the hard way. I wasn't going to let it go.**

"Poor boy," sighs Persephone, looking toward Poseidon.

Poseidon sits there stonily, his face impassive, but his eyes hold emotions ranging from proud to hurt.

**As we came around the opposite end of the house, I caught my breath.**

**We must've been on the north shore of Long Island, because on this side of the house, the valley marched all the way up to the water, which glittered about a mile in the distance. Between here and there, I simply couldn't process everything I was seeing.**

Jason nods. "The first time you see it, it's too beautiful to really process it," he agrees. He may not know the real Percy Jackson yet and somewhere inside him held mild jealousy for the dude, but this much was true.

"Camp Jupiter is probably better," Octavian responds arrogantly.

"You've never seen Camp Half-Blood, Octavian," snaps Rachel. "As a mortal, the place is absolutely fascinating. And everyone is like one big family… which I guess they are."

Reyna again looks thoughtful. "At Camp Jupiter, I suppose we all _are_ family, or extended family, but we don't really act like it, do we?"

"Of course we do!" Octavian protests loudly.

Frank and Hazel shift in their seats uncomfortably, looking everywhere except for their praetor present.

Reyna sighs. "I guess we could learn some things from this Greek Camp Half-Blood."

"Learn from a _graecus_ or more than one of them?" Octavian explodes. "That's preposterous!"

"This is why we kept them separate for all these years," Zeus mutters to Poseidon, before standing and flickering to his Roman aspect. "The Greeks are respectable people, Octavian, and you must treat them as such, despite your upbringing. Now sit down so the daughter of Minerva can continue." He flickers back, sitting down. He had supposed that the boy would have higher chances of obeying if he was in the boy's favored form.

Octavian looks terrified. "Y-yes, Lord Jupiter," he stutters, sitting back down.

"And no disrespect, Lord Zeus, but I am a daughter of _Athena_, not Minerva, even if they are nearly the same," Annabeth says, a little sharply. After that little display from Octavian, she didn't favor the Roman aspects much at the moment.

"Of course, Annabeth," Zeus replies, but doesn't apologize, much to Athena's chagrin.

**The landscape was dotted with buildings that looked like ancient Greek architecture – an open-air pavilion, an amphitheater, a circular arena – except they all looked brand new, their white marble columns sparkling in the sun. In a nearby sandpit, a dozen high school-age kids and satyrs played volleyball. Canoes glided across a small lake. Kids in bright orange T-shirts like Grover's were chasing each other around a cluster of cabins nestled in the woods. Some shot targets at an archery range.**

"WOOP! MY KIDS!" cheers Apollo.

"How do you know they're yours?" Artemis asks skeptically.

"Because _we_ are the archer twins, Arty, and our kids are the most likely to do archery in their free time. And since _you_ don't have any children, they're obviously mine." Apollo's eyes glinted. "Unless you're not telling us something?"

Artemis glares, regretting asking the question in the first place. "If you recall correctly, Apollo, I am an _eternal_ virgin goddess, which means _forever_, in case your pea-sized brain doesn't have that bit of vocabularly, if any at all, in there. And _don't call me Arty_!"

**Others rode horses down a wooded trail, and unless I was hallucinating, some of their horses had wings.**

"Pegasi!" cheers Hermes. "He's not hallucinating! It's your dad's creation!"

Poseidon smiles. "Hermes, your father is about to hit you with a bolt of lightning if you don't stop interrupting. Though you've kept strangely silent…"

Hermes beams. "I can interrupt more!" he offers in a childish voice.

Artemis stands and strides to Hermes, slapping him upside the head. "Shut up, Hermes."

Hermes shuts up.

**Down at the end of the porch, two men sat across from each other at a card table. The blond-haired girl was leaning on the porch rail next to them.**

Dionysus begins to snore, slumping over on his throne.

**The man facing me was small, but porky. He had a red nose, big watery eyes, and curly hair so black it was almost purple. **

The God of Wine keeps up his charade, but Rachel, studying him, sees him twitch.

**He looked like those paintings of baby angels – what do you call them, hubbubs? No, cherubs. That's it. He looked like a cherub who'd turned middle-aged in a trailer park.**

Now Dionysus quits the charade and opens his eyes to find the entire room roaring with shameless laughter at the brat's description of him.

The goddesses were laughing and leaning over the armrest of their thrones, while Apollo and Hermes had already fallen off theirs. The other gods except Dionysus are doubling over. In the other semicircle, facing them, the demigods are gasping for breath as all of them roll on the floor.

"Oi!" the Wine God yells indignantly, but no one hears him over the roaring laughter that could bust eardrums if it raised a few notches.

Ten minutes later, Zeus manages to recover himself and booms, "SILENCE! IT'S BEEN TEN MINUTES! SILENCE!"

The throne room falls quieter, with a sparse giggle and a chuckle here and there. By now, Dionysus sits back in his throne, grumbling about ungrateful brats and their overexaggerated descriptions and his immature, disloyal family members.

"Thank you. Now, daughter of Athena, please continue reading," Zeus orders.

"Yes, Lord Zeus," Annabeth responds obediently, but she can't start for another minute until all her bubbling giggles settle down.

**He wore a tiger-pattern Hawaiin shirt, and would've fit right in at one of Gabe's poker parties, except I got the feeling this guy could've out-gambled even my stepfather.**

"I can," Dionysus brags.

"**That's Mr. D," Grover murmured to me. "He's the camp director. Be polite.**

"Good. At least _one_ of my satyrs has had proper lessons," Dionysus grumbles. "The rest of them are so rowdy."

The Camp Half-Blood campers roll their eyes.

**The girl, that's Annabeth Chase. She's just a camper, but she's been here longer than just about anybody.**

Annabeth grins proudly, interrupting her own reading. "That's right, I have! And I absolutely love it there!"

**And you already know Chiron…"**

**He pointed at the guy whose back was to me.**

**First, I realized he was sitting in the wheelchair. Then I recognized the tweed jacket, the thinning brown hair, the scraggly beard.**

"**Mr. Brunner!" I cried.**

"No, child, Chiron," Hera corrects.

Jason looks disgruntled. Now Juno was favoring Percy _too_? From what he had heard and seen, she absolutely despised the son of Poseidon. So what was going on?

Reyna looks over to him, seemingly reading his thoughts. "Juno didn't read the books in our time. So maybe she didn't get to see things in his point of view, and get to know him. That's probably why she likes him now, because of this book. His personality _is_ quite quirky, you know." She smiles involuntarily at the reminder of her co-praetor, even if she wasn't keen on him at many times.

Across the semicircle, neither Roman catches Piper's pronounced scowl.

**The Latin teacher turned and smiled at me. His eyes had that mischievous glint they sometimes got in class when he pulled a pop quiz and made all the multiple choice answers **_**B**_**.**

"Only Chiron," Thalia smiles.

"If only he'd be so cool when it came to our pranks," Travis says, pouting.

Connor nods. "He's such a party pooper when it comes to our pranks."

"No, he's with the Party _Ponies_, not Poopers," Nico corrects them, prompting the two semicircles to laugh good-naturedly and Hades to smile gruffly at his son.

"**Ah, good, Percy," he said. "Now we have four for pinochle."**

**He offered me a chair to the right of Mr. D, who looked at me with bloodshot eyes and heaved a great sigh. "Oh, I suppose I must say it. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. There. Now, don't expect me to be glad to see you."**

"Why would I be? He's just another ungrateful brat," Dionysus mutters. Or he _thought_ he had muttered it. Instead, it came out loud and clear.

"DIONYSUS!" roars Zeus, standing with his master bolt in hand.

"Brother, you're being overdramatic. You can just _speak_ to Dionysus _without_ your master bolt. Styx, I don't know why you aren't the god of theatre," Poseidon says.

Dionysus looks gratefully at his uncle. "Thanks, Uncle-"

"And threaten him, of course," Poseidon adds, grinning.

Now Dionysus glares, sinking back in his throne and readying himself for the outburst from his father that is sure to follow.

"I SENT YOU THERE TO BE THE DIRECTOR OF OUR CHILDREN! TO ENSURE THEIR TRAINING AND BATTLE SKILLS! _NOT_ TO BE UNPLEASANT!" Zeus thunders, and lightning flashes, followed by a loud clap of thunder.

"Oh, and Lord Poseidon? Father couldn't be the god of theatre, because _I_ am the patron of theatre," Dionysus says helpfully before trying to teleport out.

But that doesn't work. He stays right where he is. Looking confused, he tries again.

"Apparently there are boundaries. We cannot teleport out," Athena says, pointing out the obvious.

"FROM NOW ON, YOU _WILL_ BE PLEASANT TO OUR CHILDREN! DO NOT BE CURT! I AM ADDING THIS TO YOUR REGULATIONS, AND YOU'D DO WELL TO FOLLOW IT UNLESS YOU WANT ANOTHER CENTURY WITH THEM!" Zeus threatens. "Not to mention a taste of my master bolt."

Hera straightens eagerly. "Please do! I never understood why you would have a fling with _Semele_ of all people."

Zeus doesn't even spare her a look. "UNDERSTOOD?"

"Yes, Father," Dionysus answers meekly.

"Good. Daughter of Athena, read on."

_I have a name,_ thinks Annabeth, but doesn't dare point this out.

"**Uh, thanks." I scooted a littler farther away from him because, if there was one thing I had learned from living with Gabe, it was how to tell when an adult has been hitting the happy juice. If Mr. D was a stranger to alcohol, I was a satyr.**

"Stranger? I _created_ wine!" protests Dionysus wildly, glaring at the book in Annabeth's hands.

"**Annabeth?" Mr. Brunner called to the blond girl.**

**She came forward and Mr. Brunner introduced us. "This young lady nursed you back to health, Percy. Annabeth, my dear, why don't you go check on Percy's bunk? We'll be putting him in cabin eleven for now."**

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! HERMES CABIN!" Travis, Connor, and Hermes himself yell.

**Annabeth said, "Sure, Chiron."**

**She was probably my age, maybe a couple inches taller,**

"Fish Breath is short," agrees Thalia.

"He's taller than you, Thals," Nico tells her. "And Annabeth, for that matter."

"And you," teases Annabeth.

**and a whole lot more athletic looking. With her deep tan and her curly blond hair, she was almost exactly what I thought a stereotypical California girl would look like, except her eyes ruined the image.**

"Her _eyes_? What's wrong with her eyes?" Athena demands angrily. "For that matter, what's wrong with _my_ eyes?"

**They were startling gray, like storm clouds; pretty,**

"Oh," Athena says, deflating.

**but intimidating, too, as if she were analyzing the best way to take me down in a fight.**

"She probably was," Will comments.

**She glanced at the minotaur horn in my hands, then back at me. I imagined she was going to say, **_**You killed a minotaur!**_** or **_**Wow, you're so awesome!**_** or something like that.**

"The infamous larger-than-life Percy Jackson ego," announces Thalia in an announcer's voice, getting laughs from the deities and the demigods.

"I bet Annabeth will come back with this awesomely awesome line," Leo predicts.

Annabeth laughs, reading the next line.

**Instead she said, "You drool when you sleep."**

Now the room at large snorts with laughter as Leo grins. "See?" He took out a broken iPod and begins to fiddle with it and a screwdriver and some other tools.

Hephaestus sees this and smiles inwardly. _So this boy isn't that out of the ordinary for my demigod kids. But I sense there's something… different about him from my other ones…_ Maybe he'd ask Athena later, to see if she could figure it out.

**Then she sprinted off down the lawn, her blond hair flying behind her. **

"**So," I said, anxious to change the subject. "You, uh, work here, Mr. Brunner?"**

"**Not Mr. Brunner," the ex-Mr. Brunner said. "I'm afraid that was a pseudonym. You may call me Chiron."**

"**Okay." Totally confused, I looked at the director. "And Mr. D… does that stand for something?"**

Rachel rolls her eyes. "Always the slowest one, that Percy."

**Mr. D stopped shuffling the cards. He looked at me like I'd just belched loudly. "Young man, names are powerful things. You don't just go around using them for no reason."**

"Oh. Right," Frank says, rolling his eyes.

"**Oh. Right. Sorry."**

"NOOOOOO!" wails Nico. "YOU'VE BEEN INFECTED!"

Everyone looks at him like he'd gone loco.

"The incurable disease… the THINKING LIKE PERCY JACKSON SYNDROME!" Nico sniffles, wiping at his eyes.

"Honestly, you should be a child of Zeus, not Hades," Poseidon informs him. "So dramatic."

His brothers and nephew glare at him.

"I'd rather not have him as my son, thank you," Zeus passes it up dryly.

"I'm happy with him as my ambassador in the future, thank you," adds Hades, and Nico drops his glare, beaming widely. It was rare than his father complimented him.

"And please, Lord Poseidon, I'd _die_ if Corpse Breath were my cousin," Thalia puts in, pulling a face and earning a hard shove from Corpse Breath himself.

"**I must say, Percy," Chiron-Brunner broke in, "I'm glad to see you alive. It's been a long time since I've made a house call to a potential camper. I'd hate to think I've wasted my time."**

"Oh, it wasn't a waste of his time at all," Rachel says mysteriously, giggling.

"Dealing with these two's pranks are, though," Katie says, pointing at Travis and Connor.

While Connor pouts, Travis winks at her, "You know you love them."

Katie flushes. "I _don't_!"

"Especially that time we almost squeezed the Demeter cabin to death with stalks of wheat," Connor adds.

Katie groans. "That was terrible." She turns to address the gods and Romans. "One night, while my half-siblings and I were _peacefully_ slumbering in the _wonderful_ Demeter cabin, these two decided that it would be a _hilarious_ idea to wrap _absolutely gigantic_ stalks of wheat around our _actual_ cabin and continue making them squeeze until we were all jammed together in our bunks. Don't ask me how they did it."

Hermes beams proudly at his sons. "Great job, boys!" He gets up and high-fives them.

Demeter, on the other hand, glares. "What a waste of wheat!"

"Mother! They nearly kill us from the contraction of the cabin and you're complaining about that?" Katie cries while the Stolls roar with laughter, no doubt with that memory fresh in mind.

Everyone else is laughing.

"How _did_ you do it?" Nico asks the twins curiously.

"A prankster never reveals his secrets," Connor says solemnly, holding up his left hand.

"**House call?"**

"**My year at Yancy Academy, to instruct you. We have satyrs at most schools, of course, keeping a lookout. But Grover alerted me as soon as he met you. He sensed you were something special, so I decided to come upstate. I convinced the other Latin teacher to… ah, take a leave of absence."**

**I tried to remember the beginning of the school year. It seemed like so long ago, but I did have a fuzzy memory of there being another Latin teacher my first week at Yancy. Then, without explanation, he had disappeared and Mr. Brunner had taken the class.**

"Ah, the Mist. Such a wonderful invention," sighs Hermes dreamily.

"I'll bet his way of making the other Latin teacher leave was better than Mrs. Dodds'," Hazel jokes dryly, but her eyes are trained on Leo.

Frank, seeing this, becomes slightly jealous. What was going on?

Everyone else laughs, speculating about how Alecto the Fury had actually convinced the other pre-algebra teacher to, in Chiron's words: 'ah, take a leave of absence'.

"**You came to Yancy just to teach me?" I asked.**

"And the Infamous Larger-than-Life Percy Jackson Ego increases!" declares Thalia. "Run for your lives!"

**Chiron nodded.**

"And there goes Chiron, feeding it," sighs Travis.

"Such a dumb move on his part. Chiron is supposed to be smart," Connor reminds them, faking disappointment.

"**Honestly, I wasn't sure about you at first. We contacted your mother, let her know we were keeping an eye on you in case you were ready for Camp Half-Blood. But you still had so much to learn. Nevertheless, you made it here alive, and that's always the first test."**

"Which my daughter failed because of that miserable satyr," spits Zeus.

"FATHER! How _many_ times must I say it?"

"**Grover," Mr. D said impatiently, "are you playing or not?"**

"**Yes, sir!" Grover trembled as he took the fourth chair, though I didn't know why he should be so afraid of a pudgy little man in a tiger-print Hawaiin shirt.**

For the first time, Hestia speaks in her soft, soothing, motherly voice. "You shouldn't scare the satyrs, Dionysus," she scolds gently.

"Yes, Lady Hestia," Dionysus replies over the loud laughter of the others at the slightly less descriptive description.

"**You **_**do**_** know how to play pinochle?" Mr. D eyed me suspiciously.**

"**I'm afraid not," I said.**

"**I'm afraid not, **_**sir**_**," he said.**

"**Sir," I repeated. I was liking the camp director less and less.**

"We all do," Connor says dramatically.

"**Well," he told me, "it is, along with gladiator fighting and Pac-Man, one of the greatest gaames ever invented by humans. I would expect all **_**civilized**_** young men to know the rules."**

"Are you calling my son _un_civilized, Dionysus?" Poseidon questions pleasantly.

"Ye- no, of course not!" Dionysus quickly responds.

"I suggest you don't do this in _our_ future if you don't want to take an unexpected dip in the coldest part of the Artic Ocean," Poseidon advises him just as pleasantly as before, but his sea-green eyes are flashing.

"Y-yes, Lord Poseidon," a scared Dionysus stammers.

"Oh, it'd be fantastic if Grover was here. I mean, then he could see Mr. D reduced to the stuttering mass he usually reduces Grover to," Thalia whispers to Annabeth, who giggles softly.

"**I'm sure the boy can learn," Chiron said.**

"**Please," I said, "what is this place? What am I doing here? Mr Brun – Chiron – why would you go to Yancy Academy just to teach me?"**

**Mr. D snorted. "I asked the same question."**

"I may be planning that dip in the future, Dionysus," Poseidon says seriously.

**The camp director dealt the cards. Grover flinched every time one landed in his pile.**

"Poor satyr," coos Aphrodite. "And he was so sweet to Percy too."

Demeter looks seriously at Dionysus, as if trying to find a remedy to him. "You need cereal, Dionysus. And perhaps we can land you at a farm once this banishment of yours is over – for perhaps a year or two?"

**Chiron smiled at me sympathetically, the way he used to in Latin class, as if to let me know that no matter what my average was, **_**I**_** was his star student. He expected **_**me**_** to have the right answer.**

"**Percy," he said. "Did your mother tell you nothing?"**

"**She said…" I remembered her sad eyes, looking out over the sea. "She told me she was afraid to send me here, even though my father had wanted her to.**

"For once, I agree with Kelp-for-Brains. It's safest for a demigod, especially one of his power, to be at Camp Half-Blood," Athena states.

"Are you calling me powerful?" Poseidon taunts, his eyes sparkling.

Athena huffs. "It's inevitable, isn't it? You _are_ one of the Big Three."

"I don't see me getting that kind of respect," Hades intervenes.

And before Demeter could launch into a rant about how 1) Sally was right to keep her child close because a mother needs her child by her side and 2) Hades _doesn't_ deserve that respect for corrupting her daughter, Annabeth lowers her eyes and quickly reads on.

**She said that once I was here, I probably couldn't leave. She wanted to keep me close to her."**

"**Typical," Mr. D said. "That's how they usually get killed. **

"Cheerful outlook," Frank says sarcastically.

**Young man, are you bidding or not?"**

"**What?" I asked.**

**He explained, impatiently, how you bid in pinochle, and so I did.**

"**I'm afraid there's too much to tell," Chiron said. "I'm afraid our usual orientation film won't be sufficient."**

The Camp Half-Blood demigods and Jason gape at the book, even Annabeth.

After a few moments of silence and the Greeks and Jason gaping at the book, Hazel decides to speak up. "Um… guys?"

This brings them to life. "He didn't see the orientation film?" squeaks Thalia.

"That was one of the best films I've ever seen," gasps Nico.

"He missed out on _so much_," Travis gapes.

"And it's our dream to get a prank in that," Connor adds.

"_I_ even saw the orientation film, and I'm not even a camper!" Rachel exclaims. "You guys made me see it!"

"The film is something you _cannot_ miss," Clarisse says. "It had the best pictures of Ares cabin!"

"Hephaestus cabin too," Leo adds.

"That was a better film than my some of my dad's films!" Piper exclaims.

"He _missed_ that?" Jason asks.

"Okay, we get it! The orientation film is awesome! Can we _please_ read?" interrupts Hades.

Annabeth shakes herself and returns to the book.

"**Orientation film?" I asked.**

"We've got to make him watch it," mutters Thalia.

"**No," Chiron decided. "Well, Percy. You know your friend Grover is a satyr. You know" – he pointed to the horn in the shoe box – "that you have killed the Minotaur. Now small feat, either, lad. What you may not know is that great powers are at work in your life. Gods – the forces you call the Greek gods – are very much alive."**

**I stared at the others around the table.**

"Out comes slow Percy," announces Hazel.

"You know him?" Annabeth asks quickly.

Hazel and Frank nod. "We went on a quest with him."

"Roman camp? He believed he was a _Roman_ for some time?" Thalia cries.

"He called himself a son of Neptune for a while, didn't he?" demands Rachel. Though she was a mortal, she _was_ at Camp Half-Blood, not Camp Jupiter, and she liked Greeks better.

Nico is strangely silent, and Annabeth rounds on him. "You _knew_!" she accuses.

Nico shrugs, averting his eyes.

"_How_?"

Sighing in resignation, Nico explains, "I went to visit my half-sister, Hazel, and Percy was with her. Being a child of Pluto or Neptune is difficult at the Roman camp; they were brought up to believe that Jupiter deserved all the respect, and none was left over for the rest of the _Greek_ Big Three after it was divided among the other Olympians, I guess, so I visited from time to time."

Annabeth closes her eyes. "And you _never_ thought to let us know?"

Nico shrugs again.

**I waited for somebody to yell, **_**Not!**_** But all I got was Mr. D yelling, "Oh, a royal marriage. Trick! Trick!" He cackled as he tallied up his points.**

"**Mr. D," Grover asked timidly, "if you're not going to eat it, could I have your Diet Coke can?"**

"**Eh? Oh, all right."**

**Grover bit a huge shard out of the empty aluminum can and chewed it mournfully.**

"**Wait," I told Chiron. "You're telling me there's such a thing as God."**

"Not 'God' with a capital g. But _gods_, yes," Reyna says.

"He's taking it slower than we did," Connor speaks for himself and Travis.

"**Well, now," Chiron said. "God – capital **_**G**_**, God. That's a different matter altogether. We shan't deal with the metaphysical." **

"**Metaphysical? But you were just talking about-"**

"**Ah, gods, plural, as in, great beings that control the forces of nature and human endeavors: the immortal gods of Olympus. That's a smaller matter."**

"We _are_ great- SMALLER?" Zeus asks loudly and irritably.

"**Smaller?"**

Nico doubles over in laughter. Soon, getting the joke, the other demigods except Octavian, who had sat silently since Jupiter admonished him with his nose turned up, burst out laughing as well.

"What?" demands Zeus.

Also getting it, Apollo and Hermes tumble off their thrones in laughter.

"WHAT?" Zeus demands louder.

"You got hit with TLPJS!" Nico yells, not caring about offending the King of the Gods in his state.

"TLPJS?" Zeus questions, confused.

Now the goddesses and other gods begin to laugh quietly.

"Thinking Like Percy Jackson Syndrome!" clarifies Hermes gleefully. "You, kid, could pass as my kid!"

Nico just laughs harder.

Once everyone calms down and Zeus is sulking in his throne like Dionysus, Annabeth picks up the reading.

"**Yes, quite. The gods we discussed in Latin class."**

"**Zeus," I said. "Hera. Apollo. You mean them."**

"He mentions me but not his father," boasts Zeus.

Poseidon rolls his eyes. "He didn't _know_ I was his father, Zeus."

"Oh."

"OH YEAH! HE MENTIONED ME! I'M AWESOME!" chants Apollo.

**And there it was again – distant thunder on a cloudless day.**

"Daddy, why are you mad? He mentioned you," teases Hermes.

"Don't call me Daddy," Zeus manages through tightly clenched teeth.

"**Young man," said Mr. D, "I would really be less casual about throwing those names around, if I were you."**

"**But they're stories," I said. "They're – myths, to explain lightning and the seasons and stuff. They're what people believed before there was science."**

"Dear River Styx, this is taking him a _long_ time to process it," Leo comments.

"**Science!" Mr. D scoffed. "And tell me, Perseus Jackson" – I flinched when he said my real name, which I never told anybody –**

"I still don't like that _my_ son is named after _his_," Poseidon grumbles, pointing at his younger brother.

"**what will people think of your 'science' two thousand years from now?" Mr. D continued. "Hmm? They will call it primitive mumbo jumbo. That's what. Oh, I love mortals – they have absolutely no sense of perspective. They think they've come **_**so-o-o**_** far. And have they, Chiron? Look at this boy and tell me."**

**I wasn't liking Mr. D much, but there was something about the way he called me mortal, as if… he wasn't.**

"Of course I'm not, little brat," Dionysus says, rolling his eyes.

Zeus gives him the evil eye and a stroke of his master bolt.

**It was enough to put a lump in my throat, to suggest why Grover was dutifully minding his cards, chewing his soda can, and keeping his mouth shut.**

"Smart satyr," Hera remarks. "If he spoke up, Dionysus would probably incinerate him on the spot."

"**Percy," Chiron said, "you may choose to believe or not, but the fact is that **_**immortal**_** means immortal. Can you imagine that for a moment, never dying? Never fading? Existing just as you are, for all time?"**

"Sometimes it isn't all it's cracked up to be," surprisingly Poseidon says.

Athena arches a brow. "That's true… but why do you say that?"

"We have to watch our mortal love interests fade and die. We have to watch them get hurt. Then we have to watch our own _children_ get injured fighting their fights, never being able to communicate with them except in special circumstances, if ever, and then watch them die. It's terrible watching someone you love die," Poseidon responds.

The gods are lost in thought, thinking this over, as the demigods exchange glances, remembering Percy's declined offer from Zeus and the others in their time. What would the gods' reactions be to that?

Finally, Annabeth picks up the book from her lap and begins to read again, breaking the deities out of their daze.

**I was about to answer, off the top of my head, that it sounded like a pretty good deal, but the tone of Chiron's voice made me hestitate.**

"**You mean, whether people believed in you or not," I said.**

"**Exactly," Chiron agreed. "If you were a god, how would you like being called a myth, an old story to explain lightning? What if I told you, Perseus Jackson, that someday people would call **_**you**_** a myth, just created to explain how little boys can get over losing their mothers?"**

Reyna gasps. "This Chiron is so cruel!"

Thalia, however, is shaking her head. "He's trying to make a point. Though _that_ particular example is not very… wise of him to use.

**My heart pounded. He was trying to make me angry for some reason, but I wasn't going to let him. I said, "I wouldn't like it. But I don't believe in gods."**

"**Oh, you'd better," Mr. D murmured. "Before one of them incinerates you."**

"Like you?" Persephone asks shrewdly.

"He wouldn't dare. Not if he doesn't want to suffer from hypothermia. If gods can get it," Poseidon responds sharply.

**Grover said, "P-please, sir. He's just lost his mother. He's in shock."**

"Such a sweet satyr, standing up for his friend despite his fear of Dionysus," Demeter says. "Have you fed him cereal, Dionysus?"

The wine god doesn't answer.

"**A lucky thing, too," Mr. D grumbled, playing a card. "Bad enough I'm confined to this miserable job, working with boys who don't even believe!"**

**He waved his hand and a goblet appeared on the table, as if the sunlight had bent, momentarily, and woven the air into glass. The goblet filled itself with red wine.**

"Dionysus, your regulations," Zeus murmurs dangerously softly.

"My lord, I'm sure Chiron will correct him," Hera says quickly, hoping to avoid a scene so they could finish this chapter.

**My jaw dropped, but Chiron hardly looked up.**

"**Mr. D," he warned, "your restrictions."**

"See?" Hera asks her husband.

Zeus grumbles under his breath.

"**Dear me." He looked at the sky and yelled, "Old habits! Sorry!"**

"You'd better be," Zeus mumbles.

**More thunder.**

**Mr. D waved his hand again, and the wineglass changed into a fresh can of Diet Coke. He sighed unhappily, popped the top of the soda, and went back to his card game.**

**Chiron winked at me. "Mr. D offended his father a while back, took a fancy to a wood nymph who had been declared off-limits."**

Zeus levels his glare on his son, while Hera draws back from him, now grumbling under _her_ breath.

"**A wood nymph," I repeated, still staring at the Diet Coke can like it was from outer space.**

"**Yes," Mr. D confessed. "Father loves to punish me.**

"That I do," Zeus says happily, removing his glare temporarily. Probably thinking up some more punishments for Dionysus.

**The first time, Prohibition. Ghastly! Absolutely horrid ten years! The second time – well, she really was pretty, and I couldn't stay away –**

Hera sniffs disapprovingly.

**the second time, he sent me here. Half-Blood Hill. Summer camp for brats like you. 'Be a better influence,' he told me. 'Work with youths rather than tearing them down.' Ha! Absolutely unfair."**

"Children are quite interesting. Though not many can see me," Hestia confesses.

Demeter smiles at her sister, whom she had not seen in a while. "That they are. I remember when my Kore here-"

"_Mother_," warns Persephone in the most queenly voice she could muster.

Demeter flinches slightly.

**Mr. D sounded about six years old, like a pouting little kid.**

"**And…" I stammered, "your father is…"**

"_**Di immortales**_**, Chiron," Mr. D said. "I thought you taught this boy the basics. My father is Zeus, of course."**

**I ran through D names from Greek mythology.**

"Now, if he had done D names from his children… that wouldn't have narrowed it down much," Hera snaps bitterly.

**Wine. The skin of a tiger. The satyrs that all semed to work here. The way Grover cringed, as if Mr. D were his master.**

"**You're Dionysus," I said. "The god of wine."**

**Mr. D rolled his eyes. "What do they say, these days, Grover? Do the children say, 'Well, duh!'?"**

"**Y-yes, Mr. D."**

"**Then, well, duh! Percy Jackson. Did you think I was Aphrodite, perhaps?"**

Aphrodite gags. "I _don't_ look like a _cherub_, therefore _no_, he cannot be me," she says loudly and clearly, as if trying to get her point across better than Dionysus had.

"**You're a god."**

"**Yes, child."**

"**A god. You."**

**He turned to look at me straight on, and I saw a kind of purplish fire in his eyes, a hint that this whiny, plump little man was only showing me the tiniest bit of his true nature. I saw visions of grape vines choking unbelievers to death, drunken warriors insane with battle lust, sailors screaming as their hands turned to flippers, their faces elongating into dolphin snouts. I knew that if I pushed him, Mr. D would show me worse things. He would plant a disease in my brain that would leave me wearing a straitjacket in a rubber room for the rest of my life.**

"Oh, he wouldn't dare. Would you, Dionysus?" Poseion questions dangerously and lowly, his green eyes flashing fire.

"N-no, of course not!" Dionysus yells nervously.

"**Would you like to test me, child?" he said quietly.**

"**No. No, sir."**

**The fire died a little. He turned back to his card game. "I believe I win."**

"YES!" squeals Dionysus, sounding like a girl… or perhaps Apollo or Hermes, since they sounded like girls too. "I FINALLY BEAT CHIRON!"

"**Not quite, Mr. D," Chiron said. He set down a straight, tallied the points, and said, "The game goes to me."**

Dionysus deflates back into his throne, scowling. "Never, _not once_, have I beat Chiron," he whines.

**I thought Mr. D was going to vaporize Chiron right out of his wheelchair, but he just sighed through his nose, as if he were used to being beaten by the Latin teacher.**

"I am," mutters Dionysus pathetically.

**He got up, and Grover rose, too.**

"**I'm tired," Mr. D said. "I believe I'll take a nap before the sing-along tonight. But first, Grover, we need to talk, **_**again**_**, about your less-than-perfect performance on this assignment."**

Seeing Zeus about to open his mouth, Annabeth reads the next line so quickly the words run together.

"Excuse me?" Athena questions.

Annabeth rereads it, this time slower.

**Grover's face beaded with sweat. "Y-yes, sir."**

**Mr. D turned to me. "Cabin eleven, Percy Jackson. And mind your manners."**

"He got his name right!" gasps Travis, clapping a hand over his heart.

"Oh, is the world ending?" Connor questions dramatically.

"He called me Jasmine Gracia once," Jason grumbles.

"To him, I'm Annie Bell," Annabeth replies.

**He swept into the farmhouse, Grover following miserably.**

"**Will Grover be okay?" I asked Chiron.**

**Chiron nodded, though he looked a bit troubled. "Old Dionysus isn't really mad. He just hates his job. He's been… ah, grounded, I guess you would say, and he can't stand waiting another century before he's allowed to go back to Olympus."**

"Worst punishment you've ever issued me, Father," grumbles Dionysus.

"**Mount Olympus," I said. "You're telling me there really is a palace there?"**

"What does this look like?" Ares asks sharply, gesturing around the throne room.

"Quiet, Ares. He's still learning. It is all coming rather fast, isn't it?" Hera comments.

"**Well now, there's a Mount Olympus in Greece. And then there's the home of the gods, the convergence point of their powers, which did indeed used to be on Mount Olympus. It's still called Mount Olympus, out of respect to the old ways, but the palace moves, Percy, just as the gods do."**

"**You mean the Greek gods are here? Like… in **_**America**_**?"**

"Slow," coughs Leo.

"**Well, certainly. The gods move with the heart of the West."**

"**The what?"**

"**Come now, Percy. What you call 'Western civilization.' Do you think it's just an abstract concept? No, it's a living force. A collective consciousness that has burned bright for thousands of years. The gods are part of it. You might even say they are the source of it, or at least, they are tied so tightly to it that they couldn't possibly fade, not unless all of Western civilization were obliterated. The fire started in Greece. Then, as you well know – or as I hope you know, since you passed my course – the heart of the fire moved to Rome, and so did the gods."**

"Romans!" yells Octavian, pumping his fist.

The Greeks glare at him. "Greeks are just as good, if not better," snaps Piper.

"And when Percy did join the Fifth Cohort, they won the game," Reyna adds, slightly reluctantly. She is rewarded with a wide smile from Jason, so it was worth it, she thought.

"Thank you, Reyna. I've experienced both Camp Jupiter (Roman) and Camp Half-Blood (Greek) so I can speak of it fairly. I think that they are quite equal. We are all humans, right?" Jason reasons.

"I agree with Jason," Annabeth says, glaring daggers at Octavian. "Wait. When Percy joined the Fifth Cohort, they won?"

Reyna nods. "They've never won before. It was as if Percy was the force behind the win."

"He probably was," Katie tells her. "He's the best swordsman for the last three hundred years at Camp Half-Blood."

"Isn't that Luke?" Hermes butts in, beaming at the reminder of his pride and joy.

"Obviously _my_ son overthrew him for the title," Poseidon says proudly.

"I'm pretty sure it's in this book, so sit still and be patient," Will answers, grinning.

**Oh, different names, perhaps – Jupiter for Zeus, Venus for Aphrodite, and so on – but the same forces, the same gods.**

"**And then they died."**

Ares snorts. "Died? Does this punk know the meaning of immortality?"

"Obviously, seeing as he was offered it," Thalia whispers to Annabeth and Nico.

"**Died? No. Did the West die? The gods simply moved, to Germany, to France, to Spain, for a while. Wherever the flame was brightest, the gods were there. They spent several centuries in England.**

"They had some hot chicks there," Apollo drools, clearly envisioing one of his flings from then.

Artemis looks disgustedly at him.

**All you need to do is look at the architecture. People do not forget the gods. Every place they've ruled, for the last three thousand years, you can see them in paintings, in statues, on the most important buildings. And yes, Percy, of course they are now in your United States. Look at your symbol, the eagle of Zeus.**

"Which beat the lame horse of Poseidon," Zeus reminds them all smugly.

Poseidon rolls his eyes. "At least my head can fit in a room without threatening to suffocate the occupants," he shoots back.

**Look at the statue of Prometheus in Rockefeller Center, the Greek facades of your government buildings in Washington. I defy you to find any American city where the Olympians are not prominently displayed in multiple places. Like it or not – and believe me, plenty of people weren't very fond of Rome, either –**

"Why _not_? Rome is the BEST!" Octavian whines, sounding like a five-year-old child who didn't get the toy he wanted.

"Because they're all big-headed, arrogant prats," murmurs Katie so that only the Greek demigods could hear. They all smirk, including Rachel.

**America is now the heart of the flame. It is the great power of the West. And so Olympus is here. And we are here."**

**It was all too much, especially the fact that **_**I**_** seemed to be included in Chiron's **_**we**_**, as if I were part of some club.**

"Yes, the Awesomely Awesome Camp Half-Blood Demigods Club," Nico says sarcastically.

"We should start that club! And plan some-"

"-shows in it!"

**Chiron smiled. He shifted his weight as if he were going to get up out of his wheelchair, but I knew that was impossible. He was paralyzed from the waist down.**

"Nope, he's a centaur!" sings Will.

Apollo nods approvingly. "I like you, son."

Will rolls his eyes.

"**Who are you?" he mused. "Well, that's the question we all want answered, isn't it? But for now, we should get you a bunk in cabin eleven.**

Here, Hermes glares half-heartedly at his fellow Olympians. "It would be much appreciated if you could claim your children earlier so that _my_ children wouldn't have to be burdened with them."

"Burdened? Are you calling our children a burden?" Athena cries out.

"No! But they shouldn't be crowding in my cabin. It's for _my_ children," Hermes replies.

"That won't be a problem in the future," Nico mutters.

**There will be new friends to meet. And plenty of time for lessons tomorrow. Besides, there will be s'mores at the campfire tonight, and I simply adore chocolate."**

**And then he did rise from his wheelchair. But there was something odd about the way he did it. His blanket fell away from his legs, but the legs didn't move. His waist kept getting longer, rising above his belt. At first, I thought he was wearing very long, white velvet underwear,**

"Very long, white velvet underwear?" repeats Frank.

"Crazy dude," Jason replies.

"Seaweed Brain," corrects Annabeth.

"Fish Face," Thalia adds.

"Algae Breath," Nico improvises.

Everyone looks at him.

"What?"

**but as he kept rising out of the chair, taller than any man, I realized that the velvet underwear**

"Velvet underwear," chuckles Hermes, seemingly over his momentary anger toward his fellow Olympians for not claiming their children and placing them under the care of _his_ children.

**wasn't underwear; it was the front of an animal, muscle and sinew under coarse white fur. And the wheelchair wasn't a chair. It was some kind of container, an enormous box on wheels, and it must've been magic, because there's no way it could've held all of him. A leg came out, long and knobbly-kneed, with a huge polished hoof. Then another front leg, then hindquarters, and then the box was empty, nothing but a metal shell with a couple of fake human legs attached.**

"Did you make that, Dad?" Leo asks in fascination.

Hephaestus grins. "Maybe."

**I stared at the horse**

"Centaur," coughs Connor.

"Shut up, Connor, you thought he was a horse at first too," Annabeth teases.

**who had just sprung from the wheelchair: a huge white stallion. But where its neck should be was the upper body of my Latin teacher, smoothly grafted to the horse's trunk.**

"**What a relief," the centaur said. "I'd been cooped up in there so long, my fetlocks had fallen asleep. Now, come, Percy Jackson. Let's meet the other campers."**

Annabeth closes the book.

"AND ENTER CENTAUR CHIRON!" cheers Apollo.

"Next time we have a party, Apollo, you won't be drinking any nectar or alcohol _all night _if you keep that up," threatens Artemis.

"Aw, you don't mean it, sis!" Apollo cheerfully returns.

In order to break up the sibling argument, Annabeth asks loudly, "Who would like to read next?"

"I will," Clarisse says, and Annabeth tosses the book to her.

x.o.x.o.x.

A/N: Done! Wow, that took a long time to write. It is over 10,000 words. I hope you enjoyed it, and please leave me some like, dislike, hate, or love! Or whatever emotion I didn't list! I'm sorry for not bringing Percy in, but he'll be in at some point, I promise. Love you all!


	6. I Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom

A/N: I realized that I hadn't put any type of disclaimer, so I placed it in the summary. To repeat myself, anything in the BOLD belongs to Rick Riordan, _not_ me. Got it? Good. I'm really sorry about this being really late!

x.o.x.o.x.

**I Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom,**__reads Clarisse, and then she groans. "I have _got_ to read this chapter, haven't I?"

No one except Annabeth, who had been there, had any idea what she was talking about.

"All hail!" Travis calls.

"Perseus Jackson, the SUPREME LORD OF THE BATHROOM!" Connor announces.

"Such a wonderful title," says Thalia sarcastically.

"Oh, I'm so proud," mock-weeps Nico.

"Must be the lack of life he experiences," Katie observes, referring to his weeping.

Nico straightens and glares.

Clarisse takes it, for the first time, as a clue to read.

**Once I got over the fact that my Latin teacher was a horse,**

"Centaur," corrects Rachel.

**we had a nice tour, though I was careful not to walk behind him. I'd done pooper-scooper patrol in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade a few times, and, I'm sorry, I did not trust Chiron's back end the way I trusted his front.**

The demigods burst into laughter, the Greeks and Rachel wondering what Chiron's response to that would be.

**We passed the volleyball pit. Several of the campers nudged each other. One pointed to the minotaur horn I was carrying. Another said, "That's **_**him**_**."**

"Must be your kids, Hermes," Poseidon remarks pleasantly.

"Um… why is that, Uncle P?" a confused Hermes questions.

"They've obviously inherited your stupid genes," replies Poseidon, grinning.

**Most of the campers were older than me.**

"Poor Annabeth. She was only seven when she got there, and even Percy is younger than most of them at twelve," Katie sympathizes.

Annabeth shrugs. "I felt more at home at Camp Half-Blood than I ever did with my dad," she replies. "I love camp so much."

Athena looks at her. "What happened with Frederick?"

Annabeth calculates, and realizes that her mother probably wouldn't know. "Nothing. You'll find out."

**Their satyr friends were bigger than Grover, **

"And probably more effective," murmurs Zeus, and Thalia doesn't bother saying anything.

**all of them trotting around in orange CAMP HALF-BLOOD T-shirts, with nothing else to cover their shaggy hindquarters.**

"I wonder if one of them is Coach Gleeson," Jason muses, using the satyr's first name after 'Coach' instead of his last, Hedge.

**I wasn't normally shy, but the way they stared at me made me uncomfortable. I felt like they were expecting me to do a flip or something.**

"More like save the world," mumbles Connor.

**I looked back at the farmhouse. It was a lot bigger than I'd realized – four stories tall, sky blue with white trim, like an upscale seaside resort.**

"He makes a few references to the sea," observes Athena. "Obviously he is drawn to his father, unfortunately."

**I was checking out the brass eagle weather vane on top when something caught my eye, a shadow in the uppermost window of the attic gable.**

The Greek demigods who had visited the old Oracle shiver.

"That was seriously creepy," Clarisse declares.

As the others nod in agreement, Annabeth says nothing. She's clearly remembering the prophecy she received before setting out on the Quest for Daedalus.

"Well, on the bright side, _I'm_ the host of the Oracle of Delphi now!" Rachel chirps cheerfully.

Apollo jumps off his throne, pumping his fist in the air. "WOOP! My new Oracle is _so_ much better than that crazy mummy dude."

**Something had moved the curtain, just for a second, and I got the distinct impression I was being watched.**

"Had the old Oracle ever watched a demigod before?" Will questions.

Apollo shakes his head. "Not as far as I know," he replies, uncharacteristically solemn.

"**What's up there?" I asked Chiron.**

**He looked where I was pointing, and his smile faded. "Just the attic."**

"**Somebody lives there?"**

"**No," he said with finality. "Not a single living thing."**

"Mm-hm. The thing's _definitely_ not living," Apollo agrees scornfully. "I never did like the body of my old Oracle. I like this one better." He points at Rachel, who blushes.

Catching the Sun God's tone about dead people, the King and Queen of the Underworld, along with the two children of Hades/Pluto present glare at him.

"Dead people are not _that_ bad." Surprisingly, it had been Queen Persephone who spoke that line.

Everyone turns to look at her, amazed, even her husband.

"What? They are my _subjects._ Don't you think I appreciate them?" Persephone asked irritably. "Father, Lady Hera, don't you appreciate your subjects?"

Hera, though slightly disgruntled that the _lowly_ daughter of her sister and her _disloyal_ husband could call her 'Lady' instead of 'Queen', replies, "Of course. We would cease to exist without worshipping mortals, wouldn't we?"

After a few moments' silence, Zeus nods as well.

"And Lord Poseidon, don't you and Lady Amphitrite appreciate your subjects too?" Persephone presses.

Without even a split second's hesitation, Poseidon nods firmly. "My subjects are some of the most important people to me."

"I rest my case," Persephone says smugly, leaning back and reaching for her husband's hand, clasping it in hers.

**I got the feeling he was being truthful. **

"He is," Katie replies.

**But I was also sure something had moved that curtain.**

"It had," confirms Katie.

"**Come along, Percy," Chiron said, his lighthearted tone now a little forced. "Lots to see."**

"Description of Camp Half-Blood coming up!" Leo enthuses, grinning widely.

**We walked through the strawberry fields, where campers were picking bushels of berries while a satyr played a tune on a reed pipe.**

"Or not," Leo nods, deflating, much to the laughter of his fellow demigods.

**Chiron told me the camp grew a nice crop for export to New York restaurants and Mount Olympus.**

"I wonder what company name camp uses when they sell to mortal restaurants," muses Piper.

"Weird musing, but okay," Travis replies.

Piper glares at him, resting her hand on her dagger.

"**It pays our expenses," he explained. "And the strawberries take almost no effort."**

**He said Mr. D had this effect on fruit-bearing plants: they just went crazy when he was around.**

"Ah, the perks of being a god," Dionysus sighs, leaning back leisurely.

**It worked best with wine grapes, but Mr. D was restricted from growing those, so they grew strawberries instead.**

"Of course it does, I'm the god of wine," Dionysus groans, rolling his eyes. Then he shoots a venomous glare at his unsuspecting father for restricting him.

**I watched the satyr playing his pipe. His music was causing lines of bugs to leave the strawberry patch in every direction, like refugees fleeing a fire. I wondered if Grover could work that kind of magic with music.**

"He can now," beams Thalia.

Zeus looks disapprovingly at her, but refrains from making a comment.

**I wondered if he was still inside the farmhouse, getting chewed out by Mr. D. **

"**Grover won't get into too much trouble, will he?" I asked Chiron. **

"He really is such a caring friend. You have a very moralistic and kind son, Poseidon," Hera says, giving out one of her rare compliments, especially to a demigod.

Poseidon smiles at her. "Thank you, sister, but _I_ cannot take the credit for that. Sally must. She's the one who raised him, after all." _And I wish I could have been there, in person, to watch him grow up, but of course the ancient laws and Zeus were in my way,_ Poseidon grumbles inwardly to himself.

"You really love Sally Jackson, don't you, Poseidon?" Aphrodite butts into his train of thought.

Shaking himself, Poseidon slowly shakes his head. "I did, Aphrodite, I really did. But now… I cannot hang myself up on her. I have Amphitrite" – he hears Thalia, Annabeth, and Nico give derisive snorts, but ignores them – "and I can always have more mortal affairs, right?"

Hera looks mildly disapproving, but the thought of the kind demigod son of Poseidon calmed her and causes her not to have an outburst.

_Of course the _wonderful_ Percy Jackson now gets special treatment from Queen Juno,_ Jason scoffs to himself, jealousy raging through him like a fire.

"**I mean… he was a good protector. Really."**

**Chiron sighed. He shed his tweed jacket and draped it over his horse's back like a saddle.**

"Hmm… pretty useful," Connor nods seriously.

"**Grover has big dreams, Percy. Perhaps bigger than are reasonable.**

"Being the Lord of the Wild, you mean? He already reached that goal," Thalia whispers so that only her peers could hear.

**To reach his goal, he must first demonstrate great courage by succeeding as a keeper, finding a new camper and bringing him safely to Half-Blood Hill."**

"**But he did that!"**

"**I might agree with you," Chiron said. "But it is not my place to judge. Dionysus and the Council of Cloven Elders must decide. I'm afraid they might not see this assignment as a success."**

"Getting a child of the Big Three to camp, with all those monsters sniffing them out and the other two sending murderers after them is not exactly a small feat," points out Athena.

**After all, Grover lost you in New York. Then there's the unfortunate… ah… fate of your mother. And the fact that Grover was unconscious when you dragged him over the property line. The council might question whether this shows any courage on Grover's part."**

"Grover is the most courageous satyr I've ever met," declares Thalia bravely. "He got _two_ children of the Big Three safely to camp."

"Safe? You call getting killed _safe_?" explodes Zeus, rising from his throne, but leaving his master bolt behind. "YOU WERE KILLED, IN CASE YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN, THALIA GRACE!"

Thalia flinches. "Don't use my last name," she requests coldly, except it sounds more like an order.

"IT IS YOUR GIVEN NAME!" thunders Zeus, as it literally does that outside. "BEING KILLED IS NOT _SAFE_, THALIA!"

Thalia doesn't bother to notice that her father had dropped her surname. "Yet I am sitting here before you, an immortal Lieutenant of Artemis and very much _alive_, thank you. I am perfectly safe right now, aren't I? So I would call that a success."

"I was forced to turn you into a pine tree, Thalia! If I hadn't you'd be in the Underworld now! And who knows what my brother would have done to you!"

"Maybe none of this would have happened if you _hadn't broken the oath_," snarls Thalia nastily.

Silence.

"You dare question my actions?" Zeus inquires in a would-be pleasant voice.

"I do. If you had kept to your word, I would not have been born _or_ temporarily killed," Thalia replies coolly. She notes Zeus reaching for his bolt, and she snaps, "You wouldn't dare, _Father_." She emphasizes the fatherly term.

"Clarisse, _read_!" hisses Nico.

**I wanted to protest. None of what happened was Grover's fault. I also felt really, really guilty. If I hadn't given Grover the slip at the bus station, he might not have gotten in trouble.**

"**He'll get a second chance, won't he?"**

Zeus growls. He had resumed his seat, quietly fuming to himself about insolent children and wondering why he ever had so many.

Thalia glares across the floor directly at her father.

**Chiron winced. "I'm afraid that **_**was**_** Grover's second chance, Percy. The council was not anxious to give him another, either, after what happened the first time, five years ago. Olympus knows,**

"Damn right we know," Zeus growls.

"_Father_!" Artemis, Athena, Persephone, and Thalia yell.

**I advised him to wait longer before trying again. He's still so small for his age…"**

"**How old is he?"**

"**Oh, twenty-eight."**

"I love how Chiron just flips it off like it's nothing," Rachel laughs.

"Shut up so I can read," Clarisse snaps.

Rachel shrugs nonchalantly. Clarisse was always like this, snapping at people for no reason.

"**What! And he's in sixth grade?"**

"**Satyrs mature half as fast as humans, Percy. Grover has been the equivalent of a middle school student for the past six years."**

"Poor Grover. That was bad enough the first time around," nods Travis.

Hermes looks suspiciously at him. "You didn't like school?"

Connor rolls his eyes. "Dad, we're sons of Hermes. _Duh_ we don't like school."

Hermes looks amused now. "And how did your mother react to that?"

The twins don't answer.

"**That's horrible."**

"**Quite," Chiron agreed. "At any rate, Grover is a late bloomer, even by satyr standards, and not yet very accomplished at woodland magic. Alas, he is anxious to pursue his dream. Perhaps now he will find some other career…"**

"Nice to know Chiron has so much faith in Grover," Travis remarks sarcastically.

"**That's not fair," I said. "What happened the first time? Was it really so bad?"**

"My _daughter_ was _killed_. Yes, it was _so bad_," snarls Zeus. His master bolt crackles loudly, and flashes of lightning light up the throne room momentarily.

**Chiron looked away quickly. "Let's move along, shall we?"**

"Give Chiron changing-the-subject lessons while you're at Grover's lying ones," Hermes instructs his twin sons.

"Give… Chiron… changing… the… subject… lessons," murmurs Connor as he painstakingly scrawls the words over the paper in Greek.

"Dyslexia acting up?" Katie asks sympathetically.

Connor nods grumpily.

**But I wasn't quite ready to let the subject drop. Something had occurred to me when Chiron talked about my mother's fate, as if he were intentionally avoiding the word **_**death.**_** The beginnings of an idea – a tiny, hopeful fire – started forming in my mind.**

"No!" gasps Poseidon. He looks quickly to Annabeth, questioning if his theory is right with his eyes.

Annabeth pauses for a moment, and then decides that it would be okay to tell him. She gives the slightest nod and Poseidon drops back against the back of his throne, covering his face with his hands.

Athena looks frustrated that she couldn't figure it out and that _Kelp-for-Brains _figured it out before she did.

"**Chiron," I said. "If the gods and Olympus and all that are real…"**

"**Yes, child?"**

"**Does that mean the Underworld is real too?"**

"No," Hades replies sarcastically. "Heaven and hell are."

"Technically, the Elysian Fields are like heaven, and Tartarus is like hell," Athena informs her uncle.

"My _point_, Athena, is that the Underworld _is_ real," Hades answers. "Must you go into technicalities all the time?"

"What's wrong with technicalities?" Annabeth demands.

**Chiron's expression darkened.**

"**Yes, child." He paused, as if choosing his words carefully. "There is a place where spirits go after death. But for now… until we know more… I would urge you to put that out of your mind."**

"He's going to go to the Underworld to save his mother," Athena realizes, and then glances quickly to Poseidon, who is pale already and gripping the armrests of his throne.

"**What do you mean, 'until we know more'?"**

"Until we find out who your father is," Katie informs the book-Percy.

"**Come, Percy. Let's see the woods."**

"He _really_ needs subtlety-in-changing-the-subject lessons," Leo nods.

**As we got closer, I realized how huge the forest was.**

The Camp Half-Blood campers nod enthusiastically.

**It took up at least a quarter of the valley, with trees so tall and thick, you could imagine nobody had been in there since the Native Americans.**

**Chiron said, "The woods are stocked, if you care to try your luck, but go armed."**

"**Stocked with what?" I asked. "Armed with what?"**

"**You'll see. Capture the flag is Friday night.**

"CAPTURE THE FLAG!" yell Travis and Connor.

Remembering that particular game, Clarisse winces.

Annabeth notices, and giggles quietly. "That was a terrific game," she whispers to Clarisse.

Glaring, the daughter of Ares reads on.

**Do you have your own sword and shield?"**

"He just got there, Chiron," Will chastises mildly, earning a few laughs, as it was usually Chiron doing the scolding.

"**My own–?"**

"**No," Chiron said. "I don't suppose you do. I think a size five will do. I'll visit the armory later."**

"What about _Anaklusmos_?" Poseidon asks.

**I wanted to ask what kind of summer camp had an armory,**

"One where you look death in the face every day," Thalia says, and then sees Nico, Hades, and Persephone's looks, so corrects, "The _inanimate_ noun, not you guys."

**but there was too much else to think about, so the tour continued. We saw the archery range, **

"WOO! ARCHERY!" cheers Apollo.

**the canoeing lake, the stables (which Chiron didn't seem to like very much), the javelin range, the sing-along amphitheater,**

"SINGING!" squeals Apollo.

**and the arena where Chiron said they held sword and spear fights.**

"**Sword and spear fights?" I asked.**

"**Cabin challenges and all that," he explained.**

"I challenged Drew," grins Piper.

"Drew?" Aphrodite repeats. "But she's such a darling right now!"

Piper snorts. "Not in the future, Mom, and I doubt it right now. I won."

"**Not lethal. Usually.**

"Usually," repeats Frank.

**Oh, yes, and there's the mess hall."**

**Chiron pointed to an outdoor pavilion framed in white Grecian columns on a hill overlooking the sea.**

"THE SEA!" yells Poseidon.

Everyone looks at him.

"What? Apollo gets to do that and not get any weird looks and I can't?" Poseidon demands.

"Lord Poseidon, we're _used_ to the mental Apollo, but you…" Artemis trails off.

**There were a dozen stone picnic tables. No roof. No walls.**

"What do you do when it rains?" Frank asks.

Clarisse cuts Annabeth, who had been about to explain, off by reading the next line.

"**What do you do when it rains?" I asked.**

"NO! WE LOST ANOTHER ONE!" wails Nico, sobbing into his hands.

**Chiron looked at me as if I'd gone a little weird.**

"A _little_?" stresses Rachel.

"**We still have to eat, don't we?"**

"Touché," shouts Connor.

**I decided to drop the subject.**

"Did Fish Face just do something _smart_?" gasps Thalia.

**Finally, he showed me the cabins.**

The Romans, even a reluctant and discreet Octavian, lean forward, interested to hear what the Greek camp's living quarters looked like.

**There were twelve of them, nestled in the woods by the lake. They were arranged in a U, with two at the base and five in a row on either side. And they were without a doubt the most bizarre collection of buildings I'd ever seen. **

"What's that supposed to mean?" demands Zeus.

"There goes Percy, angering the gods without even being here," Annabeth says.

**Except for the fact that each had a large brass number above the door (odds on the left side, evens on the right), they looked absolutely nothing alike. Number nine had smokestacks, like a tiny factory.**

Leo and Hephaestus grin.

**Number four had tomato vines on the walls and a roof made of real grass.**

Demeter beams as Katie smiles fondly.

**Seven seemed to be made of solid gold, which gleamed so much in the sunlight it was almost impossible to look at.**

"Of course it's solid gold!" Will says, offended.

"MY CABIN!" Apollo, meanwhile, yells.

**They all faced a commons area about the size of a soccer field, dotted with Greek statues, fountains, flower beds, and a couple of basketball hoops (which were more my speed).**

"Except for swimming," nods Poseidon.

**In the center of the field was a huge stone-lined firepit. Even though it was a warm afternoon, the hearted smoldered. A girl about nine years old was tending the flames, poking the coals with a stick.**

Hestia smiles warmly and widely at her brother. "He can see me," she says in wonder. "It's been so long since someone was able to."

**The pair of cabins at the head of the field, numbers one and two, looked like his-and-hers mausoleums, big white marble boxes with heavy columns in front. Cabin one was the biggest and bulkiest of the twelve.**

Zeus smiles at the mention of his cabin. "Of course it is."

**Its polished bronze doors shimmered like a hologram, so that from different angles lightning bolts seemed to streak across them. Cabin two was more graceful somehow,**

Hera beams. "Graceful? I like that adjective and your son, Poseidon."

**with slimmer columns garlanded with pomegranates and flowers. The walls were carved with images of peacocks.**

"**Zeus and Hera?" I guessed.**

"**Correct," Chiron said.**

"**Their cabins look empty."**

"As they _should be,_" Hera says fiercely and firmly.

"**Several of the cabins are. That's true. No one ever stays in one or two."**

"What am I? Chopping pegasi?" Thalia questions sarcastically.

**Okay. So each cabin had a different god, like a mascot. **

"No, a parent," growls Ares.

**Twelve cabins for the twelve Olympians. But why would some be empty?**

**I stopped in front of the first cabin on the left, cabin three.**

Poseidon leans forward, grinning.

**It was high and mighty like cabin one,**

"Of course it isn't!" Zeus snaps indignantly.

**but long and low and solid. The outer walls were of rough gray stone studded with pieces of seashell and coral, as if the slabs had been hewn straight from the bottom of the ocean floor.**

"It was," grins Poseidon.

**I peeked inside the open doorway and Chiron said, "Oh, I wouldn't do that!"**

"Let him, Chiron!" Poseidon replies.

**Before he could pull me back, I caught the salty scent of the interior, like the wind on the shore of Montauk. The interior walls glowed like abalone. There were six empty bunk beds with silk sheets turned down. But there was no sign anyone had ever slept there. The place felt so sad and lonely, I was glad when Chiron put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Come along, Percy."**

"You and sea spawn must have a strong relationship if he is drawn to your cabin," observes Athena.

**Most of the other cabins were crowded with campers.**

"Especially mine," Hermes says, glaring at his fellow Olympians.

**Number five was bright red – **

"ARES CABIN!" cheers Clarisse, interrupting her own reading. Ares beams proudly.

**A real nasty paint job, as if the color had been splashed on with buckets and fists.**

"It was- _a real nasty paint job_?" repeats Clarisse, angry.

"_Read_, Clarisse," Thalia says fiercely.

Clarisse glares at the daughter of Zeus. "We have a perfect cabin!"

"Of course," Thalia says sweetly. "So please _read_!"

**The roof was lined with barbed wire. A stuffed wild boar's head hung over the doorway,**

"_Excuse me_?" Artemis demands sharply, glaring at Ares and Clarisse. "A _stuffed wild boar's head_ is hanging over your _cabin door_?"

"Artemis, try to see some sense," tries Ares.

"I am the Goddess of the _Hunt_ and _Animals_, and you expect me to _calm down_?" yells Artemis.

"Lady Artemis-"

"Clarisse, _read_!" Annabeth hisses, cutting off her address to Artemis.

**and its eyes seemed to follow me. Inside I could see a bunch of mean-looking kids, both girls and boys, arm wrestling and arguing with each other while rock music blared. The loudest was a girl maybe thirteen or fourteen. She wore a size XXXL CAMP HALF-BLOOD T-shirt under a camouflage jacket. She zeroed in on me and gave me an evil sneer. She reminded me of Nancy Bobofit, though the camper girl was much bigger and tougher looking, and her hair was long and stringy, and brown instead of red.**

Clarisse didn't dare comment on her description, in fear of setting off the Goddess of the Hunt who is still fuming under her breath.

**I kept walking, trying to stay clear of Chiron's hooves. "We haven't seen any other centaurs," I observed.**

"**No," said Chiron sadly. "My kinsmen are a wild and barbaric folk, I'm afraid. You might encounter them in the wilderness, or at major sporting events. But you won't see any here."**

"**You said your name was Chiron. Are you really…"**

**He smiled down at me. "**_**The**_** Chiron from the stories? Trainer of Hercules and all that? Yes, Percy, I am."**

"**But, shouldn't you be dead?"**

"Tactful," Jason comments.

**Chiron paused, as if the question intrigued him. "I honestly don't know about **_**should**_** be. The truth is, I **_**can't**_** be dead. You see, eons ago the gods granted my wish. I could continue the work I loved. I could be a teacher of heroes as long as humanity needed me. I gained much from that wish… and I gave up much. But I'm still here, so I can only assume I'm still needed."**

**I thought about being a teacher for three thousand years. It wouldn't have made my Top Ten Things to Wish For List.**

Annabeth smiles. "That is one promise he kept," she murmurs to Thalia.

"**Doesn't it ever get boring?"**

"**No, no," he said. "Horribly depressing, at times, but never boring."**

Thalia looks touched. "I knew Chiron cared about me, and wasn't happy about my death, but I didn't know it was _depressing_ for him."

"It wasn't depressing for anyone except for the centaur," Hera snaps.

Thalia ignores her.

"**Why depressing?"**

"And now Chiron will use his terrible changing the subject skills," Travis remarks.

**Chiron seemed to turn hard of hearing again.**

"**Oh, look," he said. "Annabeth is waiting for us."**

"Ooh, _Annabeth_," teases Leo.

Annabeth's cheeks inflame.

**The blond girl I'd met at the Big House was reading a book in front of the last cabin on the left, number eleven.**

**When we reached her, she looked me over critically, like she was still thinking about how much I drooled.**

"_Now_ she looks him over critically in _other_ ways," Travis implies, winking.

"Travis!" snaps Annabeth, her cheeks a deep maroon.

**I tried to see what she was reading, but I couldn't make out the title. I thought my dyslexia was acting up. Then I realized the title wasn't even English. The letters looked Greek to me. I mean, literally Greek. There were pictures of temples and statues and different kinds of columns, like those in an architecture book.**

"You're an architect?" Athena asks.

"Duh, Owl Face. She introduced herself as the _Architect of Olympus_," Poseidon tells her.

Seeing her mother's scandalized face, Annabeth giggles.

"**Annabeth," Chiron said, "I have masters' archery class at noon. Would you take Percy from here?"**

"**Yes, sir."**

"**Cabin eleven," Chiron told me, gesturing toward the doorway. "Make yourself at home."**

**Out of all the cabins, eleven looked the most like a regular old summer camp cabin, with the emphasis on **_**old**_**. The threshold was worn down, the brown paint peeling. Over the doorway was one of those doctor's symbols, a winged pole with two snakes wrapped around it. What did they call it…?**

"A caduceus," Athena says.

**A caduceus.**

"We lost HER TOO!" wails Nico.

"Shut up," Athena snaps.

**Inside, it was packed with people, both boys and girls, way more than the number of bunk beds.**

Again, Hermes switches on his fierce glare, pointing it at each of his family members.

**Sleeping bags were spread all over on the floor. It looked like a gym where the Red Cross had set up an evacuation center.**

His glare becomes more pronounced.

**Chiron didn't go in. The door was too low for him. But when the campers saw him they all stood and bowed respectfully.**

"**Well, then," Chiron said. "Good luck, Percy. I'll see you at dinner."**

**He galloped away toward the archery range.**

**I stood in the doorway, looking at the kids. They weren't bowing anymore. They were staring at me, sizing me up. I knew this routine. I'd gone through it at enough schools.**

"**Well?" Annabeth prompted. "Go on."**

**So naturally I tripped coming in the door and made a total fool of myself.**

"Naturally," repeats Hazel, grinning.

**There were some snickers from the campers, but none of them said anything.**

**Annabeth announced, "Percy Jackson, meet cabin eleven."**

"**Regular or undetermined?" somebody asked.**

"I think that was me," Travis says.

**I didn't know what to say, but Annabeth said, "Undetermined."**

**Everybody groaned.**

**A guy who was a little older than the rest came forward.**

Annabeth, Thalia, Nico, Will, Katie, Clarisse, Travis, Connor and Rachel grit their teeth and frown. Luke _had_ changed at the end of his life, but that didn't excuse the things he did.

"**Now, now, campers. That's what we're here for. Welcome, Percy. You can have that spot on the floor, right over there."**

Hermes drops his glare, beaming at the mention of his pride and joy. "Luke." He doesn't notice the Greeks who had been present during the war frowning.

**The guy was about nineteen, and he looked pretty cool. He was tall and muscular, with short-cropped sandy hair and a friendly smile.**

"Friendly," snorts Connor, who hadn't gotten over his half-brother's betrayal too well, even though he is thrilled that Luke had changed in the last minutes of his life.

**He wore an orange tank top, cutoffs, sandals, and a leather necklace with five different-colored clay beads. The only thing unsettling about his appearance was a thick white scar that ran from just beneath his right eye to his jaw, like an old knife slash.**

"**This is Luke," Annabeth said, and her voice sounded different somehow. I glanced over and could've sworn she was blushing.**

"Ooh, love triangle?" Aphrodite squeals, clapping excitedly. "I just _love_ those!"

Annabeth shakes her head furiously. "No," she says firmly.

Hermes looks down. Would something bad happen in the future? He thought that Annabeth was quite infatuated with his son.

**She saw me looking, and her expression hardened again. "He's your counselor for now."**

"**For now?" I asked.**

"**You're undetermined," Luke explained patiently. "They don't know what cabin to put you in, so you're here. Cabin eleven takes all newcomers, all visitors. Naturally, we would. Hermes, our patron, is the god of travelers."**

"He didn't say father?" Hermes inquires of Annabeth, Travis, and Connor in disappointment.

"Just because there were some undetermined and children of minor gods and goddesses in there," Annabeth assures him too quickly.

**I looked at the tiny section of floor they'd given me. I had nothing to put there as my own, no luggage, no clothes, no sleeping bag. Just the Minotaur's horn. I thought about setting that down, but then I remembered that Hermes was also the god of thieves.**

"Good," compliments Demeter.

"Check your belongings," warns Thalia as she sees a mischievous glint in the twins' eyes.

"I'm missing my caduceus!" exclaims Hermes, turning to glare at his sons, who smile innocently. "Sons, give it back _now_."

**I looked around at the campers' faces, some sullen and suspicious, some grinning stupidly, some eyeing me as if they were waiting for a chance to pick my pockets.**

"We probably were," grins Travis, after returning his father's caduceus reluctantly.

"**How long will I be here?" I asked.**

"**Good question," Luke said. "Until you're determined."**

"**How long will that take?"**

"Ah, the age-old question," Frank says dramatically, remembering how long it had taken him to be claimed; thinking he had been a child of Apollo the whole time.

**The campers all laughed.**

"**Come on," Annabeth told me. "I'll show you the volleyball court."**

"**I've already seen it."**

"**Come on."**

**She grabbed my wrist and dragged me outside. I could hear the kids of cabin eleven laughing behind me.**

"How sweet, she's trying to save her boyfriend!" coos Aphrodite.

"He wasn't my boyfriend then," a blushing Annabeth insists.

"Whatever. The point _is_, you're trying to save him!" squeals Aphrodite.

"Shut up, Aphrodite," snaps Athena. "My daughter doesn't belong with that sea rat."

"For a wisdom goddess, Athena, you're quite dumb. Sea rat?" Poseidon asks, raising an eyebrow.

Athena huffs. "Shut _up_, both of you!"

"As you wish, Miss Not-So-Wise," Poseidon teases.

"POSEIDON!" Athena yells.

**When we were a few feet away, Annabeth said, "Jackson, you have to do better than that."**

"**What?"**

"Slow on the uptake, as always," Hazel remarks amusedly.

**She rolled her eyes and mumbled under her breath, "I can't believe I thought you were the one."**

"To be her soulmate?" Aphrodite asks excitedly.

Annabeth rolls her eyes. "_No_, Lady Aphrodite. The one to… oh, you'll see."

"So you don't date the sea spawn?" Athena asks eagerly.

"Mother, I _do_ date _Percy_," Annabeth says. "For once, can I agree with Lord Poseidon? You seem to have a momentary lack of intelligence and wisdom today." Once the words leave her mouth, she slaps a hand over it, but doesn't take back the true words.

Athena stares at her, shocked.

"Wow, Percy must have rubbed off on her," Nico says, a bit louder than intended.

Everyone turns their attention to him.

Nico flushes and looks away.

Before Athena could explode at her daughter, Clarisse reads, not so that she could escape the would-be thoroughly entertaining fight, but so that she could get this embarrassing chapter over with quicker.

"**What's your problem?" I was getting angry now. "All I know is, I kill some bull guy-"**

"**Don't talk like that!" Annabeth told me. "You know how many kids at this camp wish they'd had your chance?"**

"**To get killed?"**

"**To fight the Minotaur! What do you think we train for?"**

**I shook my head. "Look, if the thing I fought really was **_**the**_** Minotaur, the same one in the stories…"**

"**Yes."**

"**Then there's only one."**

"**Yes."**

"**And he died, like, gajillion years ago, right?**

"No, less than a gajillion, which isn't actually a number," Athena corrects huffily. "See? I _do_ have intelligence and wisdom."

"Actually, it _is_ real," Poseidon contradicts.

"No it isn't! Show me a dictionary in which it has the word _gajillion_," Athena demands.

Poseidon shrugs, pulling out an iPhone and going to the Internet. "See? The Urban Dictionary online says: A large, undefined number. Could refer to several, or a massive amount. Used in extreme over-exaggeration for humorous or emphatic purposes." He shows her the iPhone.

Athena gapes at the screen. "NO! It _can't_ be true!"

Poseidon shrugs again. "Outsmarted yet again, Athena. Not at all up to your usual standards."

**Theseus killed him in the labyrinth. So…"**

"I just realized that _two_ of my sons killed the Minotaur," Poseidon observes, grinning.

"**Monsters don't die, Percy. They can be killed. But they don't die."**

"That clears it up," Piper comments sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Haven't you learned that Percy is quite the slow processor already?"

Annabeth shrugs. "Maybe I didn't."

"YOU CALLED HIM PERCY!" Aphrodite squeals, breaking a few more windows. "NOT JACKSON!"

"Great, it's such a great discovery, better than the cure of cancer!" Leo yells.

"See? The son of my husband agrees!" Aphrodite shrieks.

"It was sarcasm, dear," Hephaestus informs her, rolling his eyes discreetly.

"Oh." Aphrodite pauses. "What's sarcasm?"

"**Oh, thanks. That clears it up."**

"PIPER! WE'VE LOST YOU! NOOOOOOO!" wails Nico. "So many have gone to the Dark Side, _so many_!"

"**They don't have souls, like you and me. You can dispel them for a while, maybe even for a whole lifetime if you're lucky.**

"Lucky? Percy? They shouldn't be said in the same _paragraph_," Thalia scoffs.

"He has bad luck?" Poseidon queries anxiously.

"You could say that," Rachel replies.

**But they are primal forces. Chiron calls them arche-types. Eventually, they re-form."**

**I thought about Mrs. Dodds. "You mean if I killed one, accidentally, with a sword-"**

"**The Fur… I mean, your math teacher. That's right. She's still out there. You just made her very, very mad."**

"Wonderful. A mad Alecto," Persephone says. "I hate that Kindly One. Why are they called Kindly Ones? They aren't very kindly."

"**How did you know about Mrs. Dodds?"**

"**You talk in your sleep."**

"Talking _and_ drooling? Hmm," mutters Connor, scribbling something down in Greek on his notepad.

Travis leans over, scans it, and grins. "Terrific idea, brother."

Annabeth looks at them suspiciously. "What did you just plan?" she demands, her grey eyes flashing.

"Nothing!" the twins reply in unison, too quickly and too innocently.

"**You almost called her something. A Fury? They're Hades' torturers, right?"**

"What a fantastic way to phrase it," Hades states mockingly. "Bright son you've got there, brother."

**Annabeth glanced nervously at the ground, as if she expected it to open up and swallow her.**

"It could have," Hades confides.

Annabeth looks terrified.

"**You shouldn't call them by name, even here. We call them the Kindly Ones, if we have to speak of them at all."**

"**Look, is there anything we **_**can**_** say without it thundering?"**

"No," Zeus answers.

**I sounded whiny, even to myself, but right then I didn't care. "Why do I have to stay in cabin eleven anyway? Why is everybody so crowded together? There are plenty of empty bunks right over there."**

**I pointed to the first few cabins, and Annabeth turned pale. "You don't just choose a cabin, Percy. It depends on who your parents are. Or… your parent."**

"This is why the cohorts work better," Octavian says, finally speaking, to the disappointment of the Greeks. "_We_ are not overcrowded."

"But _we_ actually live with our _family_," retorts Thalia heatedly.

"And the cabins aren't discriminated as much as the cohorts are. Like how the Fifth Cohort is supposed to be the worst and the First is the 'pride of Camp Jupiter'," Jason comments. Then he does a double take. "How did I remember that?"

Everyone shrugs.

**She stared at me, waiting for me to get it.**

"Are you crazy?" exclaims Rachel. "Percy _get _it?"

"**My mom is Sally Jackson," I said. "She works at the candy store in Grand Central Station. At least, she used to."**

"See?" Rachel asks smugly.

"No one contradicted you, Rachel," Annabeth replies, rolling her eyes.

"**I'm sorry about your mom, Percy. But that's not what I mean. I'm talking about your other parent. Your dad."**

"**He's dead. I never knew him."**

"One out of two? Fifty percent? Better than he usually does," jokes Hazel.

**Annabeth sighed. Clearly, she'd had this conversation before with other kids.**

"I have," clarifies Annabeth.

"**Your father's not dead, Percy."**

"And can't be," adds Poseidon.

"**How can you say that? You know him?"**

"Not personally," Annabeth replies for her past self. Then she glances at the Sea God in the semicircle opposite her. "Actually, I guess I do."

"**No, of course not."**

"**Then how can you say-"**

"**Because I know **_**you**_**. You wouldn't be here if you weren't one of us."**

"**You don't know anything about me."**

"And then goes Annabeth spouting facts," Leo states matter-of-factly.

Annabeth glares.

"**No?" She raised an eyebrow. "I bet you moved around from school to school. I bet you were kicked out of a lot of them."**

"**How-"**

"**Diagnosed with dyslexia. Probably ADHD, too."**

"Stop glaring at me, Annabeth. It's _true_!" Leo whines.

**I tried to swallow my embarrassment. "What does that have to do with anything?"**

"Don't be embarrassed, son. Every demigod goes through that," Poseidon reassures the book-Percy.

"**Taken together, it's almost a sure sign. The letters float off the page when you read, right? That's because your mind is hardwired for ancient Greek.**

"Which is awesome," interrupts Travis.

"Latin is better," Octavian argues.

Connor shakes his head. "Ancient Greek."

**And the ADHD – you're impulsive, can't sit still in the classroom. That's your battlefield reflexes. In a real fight, they'd keep you alive. As for the attention problems, that's because you see too much, Percy, not too little. Your senses are better than a regular mortal's. Of course the teachers want you medicated. Most of them are monsters. They don't want you seeing them for what they are."**

"**You sound like… you went through the same thing?"**

"**Most of the kids here did. If you weren't like us, you couldn't have survived the Minotaur, much less the ambrosia and nectar."**

Apollo and Hermes' mouths begin to water.

"**Ambrosia and nectar."**

"**The food and drink we were giving you to make you better. That stuff would've killed a normal kid. It would've turned your blood to fire and your bones to sand and you'd be dead.**

"Sounds pleasant. I'd like some," Rachel quips.

**Face it. You're a half-blood."**

**A half-blood.**

**I was reeling with so many questions I didn't know where to start.**

**Then a husky voice yelled, "Well! A newbie!"**

Annabeth suddenly burst into uncontrollable laughter as Clarisse glares daggers at her, trying to get her to stop.

"What in Hades is the matter, daughter?" Athena inquires worriedly.

Annabeth waves her off, falling off her gold throne-like chair onto the ground and rolling around in silent laughter, also waving Clarisse on.

"Shut up," Clarisse mumbles under her breath before reluctantly obeying.

**I looked over. The big girl from the ugly red cabin was sauntering toward us.**

"_Ugly_?" repeats Ares dangerously.

"I agree with Poseidon's child," Artemis declares loudly, renewing her glare full force on father and daughter.

**She had three other girls behind her, all big and ugly and mean looking like her, all wearing camo jackets.**

"Gets their bigness and ugliness from their father," Aphrodite murmurs.

"**Clarisse," Annabeth sighed. "Why don't you go polish your spear or something?"**

"**Sure, Miss Princess," the big girl said. "So I can run you through with it Friday night."**

"If you dare to, Miss La Rue, I shall accompany Artemis in destroying you," Athena threatens firmly.

Clarisse gulps, but otherwise shows no fear.

"_**Erre es korakas!**_**" **

"What?" Frank asks.

**Annabeth said, which I somehow understood was Greek for 'Go to the crows!' though I had a feeling it was a worse curse than it sounded.**

"It is," agrees Hestia.

"**You don't stand a chance."**

"Athena always has a plan," Annabeth gasps out between her still-going-on laughs.

Athena nods in agreement.

"**We'll pulverize you," Clarisse said, but her eye twitched. Perhaps she wasn't sure she could follow through on the threat.**

"Like father, like daughter," Hephaestus taunts Ares.

"And if you decide to run my daughter through with your spear, I _can_ and _will_ follow through on _my_ threat," Athena threatens.

**She turned toward me. "Who's this little runt?"**

"LITTLE RUNT?" roars Poseidon.

"**Percy Jackson," Annabeth said, "meet Clarisse, Daughter of Ares."**

"THAT'S MY GIRL!" thunders Ares, nodding proudly.

**I blinked. "Like… the war god?"**

"Oh my gods," Frank says. "I just realized that if I was Greek, I'd be _related_ to her." He points at Clarisse.

**Clarisse sneered. "You got a problem with that?"**

"Yes," everyone except Ares and Clarisse say.

"**No," I said, recovering my wits. "It explains the bad smell."**

Everyone except Clarisse, Ares, and Octavian burst into laughter, including Annabeth who had never stopped, remembering what was coming up.

"Bad smell?" explodes Ares.

"It's true, darling," Aphrodite replies, her face twisted into a disgusted expression.

Ares gapes at her, amazed, as Hephaestus beams.

**Clarisse growled. "We got an initiation ceremony for newbies, Prissy."**

"**Percy."**

"**Whatever. Come on, I'll show you."**

"**Clarisse-" Annabeth tried to say.**

"She's trying to save him!" squeals Aphrodite. "How _sweet_!"

"I was not!" argues Annabeth through her slowing laughter.

"**Stay out of it, wise girl."**

Thalia looks at Annabeth. "Is _that_ where Perce got your nickname?"

Annabeth nods.

**Annabeth looked pained, but she did stay out of it, and I didn't really want her help. I was the new kid. I had to earn my own rep.**

"True, true," Hermes agrees.

**I handed Annabeth my minotaur horn and got ready to fight, but before I knew it, Clarisse had me by the neck and was dragging me toward a cinder-block building that I knew immediately was the bathroom.**

"That's my girl!" a recovered Ares cheers. "She's going _pulverize_ your kid, Sea Face!"

Poseidon rolls his eyes. "You'll be eating your words, Ares."

Clarisse, grimacing, doesn't say anything to defend her father and reads instead.

**I was kicking and punching. I'd been in plenty of fights before, but this big girl Clarisse had hands like iron.**

"Clarisse is to me as Luke is to Hermes," comments Ares, beaming proudly at his daughter, who manages a tight smile.

**She dragged me into the girls' bathroom. There was a line of toilets on one side and a line of shower stalls down the other. It smelled just like any public bathroom, and I was thinking – as much as I **_**could**_** think with Clarisse ripping my hair out – that if this place belonged to the gods, they should've been able to afford classier johns.**

"Yeah, can't you?" wonders Travis.

"Apparently Percy rubbed off on him too," Nico whispers to Thalia and Annabeth.

"We do not want to spend valuable drachmas on you brats," Dionysus replies.

"Dionysus," Zeus warns.

"You're immortal and _kings_. Really?" asks Connor.

"SILENCE!" roars Zeus. "This subject is _closed_. Am I understood?"

The demigods nod weakly.

**Clarisse's friends were all laughing, and I was trying to find the strength I'd used to fight the Minotaur, but it just wasn't there.**

"**Like he's 'Big Three' material," Clarisse said as she pushed me toward one of the toilets.**

"NOT BIG THREE MATERIAL? TOILETS?" shouts Poseidon, rising to face Clarisse angrily.

"Um… sorry?" Clarisse squeaks, and then covers her mouth. "I did _not_ just squeak. Just so you know. Clear?"

"Crystal," sniggers Connor.

"Lord Poseidon, please. Clarisse will be eating her words soon enough. Please calm down," Annabeth attempts to soothe him.

Poseidon eyes her suspiciously. "And just why will she be eating her words?"

Annabeth smirks. "Let's just say Percy whoops her a-"

"Annabeth!" Athena scolds. "Watch your mouth!"

"Sorry, Mother," Annabeth replies, "but it's true."

Still skeptical, Poseidon sits on the edge of his throne. "Read, daughter of Ares, before I decide to act, despite Athena's daughter's words."

Eager not to be zapped by the legendary trident of Poseidon, Clarisse obeys.

"**Yeah, right. Minotaur probably fell over laughing, he was so stupid looking."**

Poseidon growls lowly, but doesn't do anything else. Ares keeps looking at him warily.

**Her friends snickered.**

"Half-siblings," corrects Ares.

Poseidon glares.

**Annabeth stood in the corner, watching through her fingers.**

"I was _not_!" protests Annabeth.

"Whatever you say, Annie," Thalia teases, before diving out of Annabeth's reach.

**Clarisse bent me over on my knees and started pushing my head toward the toilet bowl.**

"You better be right, Annabeth," warns Poseidon.

"I am, trust me, Lord."

**It reeked like rusted pipes and, well, like what goes into toilets.**

"Ew!" shrieks Aphrodite. "Poor boy!"

Annabeth rolls her eyes.

**I strained to keep my head up. I was looking at the scummy water, thinking, I will not go into that. I won't.**

**Then something happened.**

Poseidon leans forward, nearly falling out of his seat.

**I felt a tug in the pit of my stomach.**

Poseidon leans back, satisfied. "Thank you, Annabeth."

Annabeth simply grins back, ignoring the questioning looks of the others.

**I heard the plumbing rumble, the pipes shudder.**

Athena sat straight up, the realization thrumming in her mind.

**Clarisse's grip on my hair loosened.**

"It better have," growls Poseidon.

**Water shot out of the toilet, making an arc straight over my head, and the next thing I knew, I was sprawled on the bathroom tiles with Clarisse screaming behind me.**

**I turned just as water blasted out of the toilet again, hitting Clarisse straight in the face so hard it pushed her down onto her butt.**

The laughter starts now, and Clarisse struggles to read with a bright red face and fiery eyes.

**The water stayed on her like the spray from a fire hose, pushing her backward into a shower stall.**

**She struggled, gasping, and her friends started coming toward her. But then the other toilets exploded, too, and six more streams of toilet water blasted them back. The showers acted up, too, and together all the fixtures sprayed the camouflage girls right out of the bathroom, spinning them around like pieces of garbage being washed away.**

Now the throne room was exploding with laughter, all except Ares and Clarisse. Even the still-fuming Octavian had allowed a small chuckle to escape. The uptight Zeus and Hades also were laughing full-out, having the vision in their minds. Jason, forgetting his jealousy for the moment, also bursts out laughing.

Annabeth is back on the floor, rolling around in laughter.

Clarisse sits in her chair stonily and straight-backed, her eyes staring straight ahead, set in a maroon face.

Ares is fuming quite loudly, mixing it with the sounds of mirth.

Finally, Thalia decides to take mercy on the Ares girl. "PEOPLE! CAN WE PLEASE READ?"

Clarisse uncharacteristically tries to turn a grateful look on the daughter of Zeus, but it falters with her next line.

"I want to see Annabeth and Percy's reactions to them whooping a-"

Having recovered fairly quickly, Zeus looks at her sternly. "Thalia, watch your language."

Thalia shrugs. "That's all you care about? My language?"

"Thals," Nico says quietly, looking at her. "Leave it."

She looks back at him. "Fine," she relents.

Clarisse scowls at the room as a whole.

**As soon as they were out the door, I felt the tug in my gut lessen, and the water shut off as quickly as it had started.**

**The entire bathroom was flooded. Annabeth hadn't been spared.**

"SEE WHAT YOUR SPAWN DID TO MY DAUGHTER?" explodes Athena, glaring at Poseidon heatedly.

"MOTHER! I found out later that I was never hit by any toilet water, just shower water," Annabeth is quick to reassure her.

Athena looks at her suspiciously. "And how do you know that?"

"I wasn't reeking like Clarisse and the other daughters of Ares were," Annabeth responds triumphantly, smirking at a deeper scowling Clarisse.

**She was dripping wet, but she hadn't been pushed out the door.**

"Wow, he can control his powers like that?" Reyna asks. "I never knew that."

"Praetors should always know everything about each other so they can work together better," Jason bites at her. Apparently his jealousy returns.

Reyna stares at him in shock. "We haven't had much time to get to know each other before we were pulled out to be here, Jason. What's gotten into you?"

Before Jason could reply, Hazel says, "I knew. That day he arrived, he controlled the Little Tiber."

Reyna's eyebrows shoot up. "That's a difficult feat."

Frank nods. "I was there too. It was amazing."

**She was standing in exactly the same place, staring at me in shock.**

"Or admiration," teases Connor.

"SHUT UP, STOLL!"

**I looked down and realized I was sitting in the only dry spot in the whole room.**

Poseidon nods happily.

**There was a circle of dry floor around me.**

"And you couldn't have made that happen for Annabeth too?" Athena inquires dryly.

**I didn't have one drop of water on my clothes. Nothing.**

**I stood up, my legs shaky.**

**Annabeth said, "How did you…"**

"**I don't know."**

**We walked to the door. Outside, Clarisse and her friends were sprawled in the mud, and a bunch of other campers had gathered around to gawk. Clarisse's hair was flattened across her face. Her camouflage jacket was sopping and she smelled like sewage. She gave me a look of absolute hatred. "You are dead, new boy. You are totally dead."**

"If that happens, let-our-kids-fight-their-own-fights be damned, along with our ancient laws. I, unlike some people, actually care for my offspring," Poseidon threatens angrily.

The others don't bother to contradict him. He is right. Percy had the most caring deity parent.

**I probably should have let it go, but I said, "You want to gargle with toilet water again, Clarisse? Close your mouth."**

"GO PERCY!" cheer Connor and Travis, but fall absolutely silent as Clarisse turns her scowl and glare full-force on them.

**Her friends had to hold her back. They dragged her toward cabin five, while the other campers made way to avoid her flailing feet.**

**Annabeth stared at me. I couldn't tell whether she was just grossed out or angry at me for dousing her.**

"Neither," clarifies Annabeth.

Everyone looks at her.

She smiles. "You'll see."

"I hate those words," whines Apollo loudly.

"Grow up," snaps Artemis.

"**What?" I demanded. "What are you thinking?"**

"**I'm thinking," she said, "that I want you on my team for capture the flag."**

"That's the end," Clarisse says, a bit hoarsely as she tosses the book down onto the floor at her feet. She slouches back into the throne-like chair, her scowl reappearing.

"I cannot believe that a child of _Poseidon_ has to be an _ally_ of _my_ children," grumbles Athena.

Annabeth, though she rolls her eyes, says nothing, not wanting to spoil the outcome of the game.

"Who would like to read next?" Poseidon asks.

"I will," Hazel volunteers, and catches the book, fumbling a little, as Clarisse chucks it at her, taking out her anger and frustration out into throwing it.

x.o.x.o.x.

A/N: Again, I'm terribly sorry for the long wait! Hopefully the next one will be up sooner! By the way… 51 REVIEWS? Thank you so much, I love you all! 


	7. My Dinner Goes Up in Smoke

A/N: This was much faster than the last update! Thanks to 1101 for the suggestion to use a PDF instead of typing it by hand; it's worked wonders! Enjoy!

x.o.x.o.x.

**My Dinner Goes Up in Smoke, **reads Hazel begins, and then pauses."What a peculiar chapter title."

Annabeth guesses what the chapter title means, and replies,"It will explain in the chapter, I believe."

**Word of the bathroom incident spread immediately.**

"Of course it did. The Aphrodite girls at Camp Half-Blood are our very own gossip columnists," Leo comments.

Piper glares at him.

"Er… _most_ of the Aphrodite girls are?" Leo corrects himself uneasily.

**Wherever I went, campers pointed at me and murmured something about toilet water. Or maybe they were just staring at Annabeth, who was still pretty much dripping wet.**

Athena looks disapproving."Poor daughter. Stupid sea spawn."

**She showed me a few more places: the metal shop (where kids were forging their own swords),**

"WOOP!" yells Leo.

**the arts-and-crafts room (where satyrs were sandblasting a giant marble statue of a goat-man),**

Annabeth smiles."If Grover were here, he'd be fuming mad. That's Pan."

**and the climbing wall, which actually consisted of two facing walls that shook violently, dropped boulders, sprayed lava, and clashed together if you didn't get to the top fast enough.**

Thalia groans."I hated that wall. I'd take Hunting for Artemis over that any day."

Nico pulls a face."If I was a girl, I would too. That thing is _fatal_, you know. Or could be, anyway…"

**Finally we returned to the canoeing lake, where the trail led back to the cabins.**

"**I've got training to do," Annabeth said flatly."Dinner's at seven-thirty. Just follow your cabin to the mess hall."**

"Now she's mad," groans Aphrodite."That messes up my whole plan!"

Athena glares at her.

"**Annabeth, I'm sorry about the toilets."**

"**Whatever."**

"**It wasn't my fault."**

Travis snorts."That's what they all say."

**She looked at me skeptically, and I realized it **_**was**_** my fault. I'd made water shoot out of the bathroom fixtures. I didn't understand how.**

"It's because you're a child of Kelp-for-Brains over there," Athena replies to the book."He can control water."

**But the toilets had responded to me. I had become one with the plumbing.**

Frank snickers."What an… _interesting_ way to put it."

"Are you jealous of the plumbing, Annie?" Connor asks, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Annabeth glares heatedly at him."Connor."

"Yes?"

"_Don't call me Annie_."

"**You need to talk to the Oracle," Annabeth said.**

"**Who?"**

"**Not who. What. The Oracle. I'll ask Chiron."**

"Yeah, it's only a 'what' because _someone_ went psycho crazy on the poor girl," Apollo remarks, glancing at Hades, who shrugs.

**I stared into the lake, wishing somebody would give me a straight answer for once.**

"Not gonna happen," Reyna says.

**I wasn't expecting anybody to be looking back at me from the bottom, so my heart skipped a beat when I noticed two teenage girls sitting cross-legged at the base of the pier, about twenty feet below. They wore blue jeans and shimmering green T-shirts, and their brown hair floated loose around their shoulders as minnows darted in and out. They smiled and waved as if I were a long-lost friend.**

"Naiads," Poseidon says."I guess to them, Percy _is_ a long-lost friend."

**I didn't know what else to do. I waved back.**

"**Don't encourage them," Annabeth warned."Naiads are terrible flirts."**

"Ooh, are you _jealous_, Annabeth? You're not even in a relationship yet! Ooh, I am doing _such_ a good job with Percabeth!" squeals Aphrodite.

Athena and Poseidon look at her."Percabeth?" repeats Athena.

"Yeah, duh. _Percy_ and _Annabeth_ combined!" Aphrodite explains."I think Poseidon's right, Athena. You _are_ so unwise today!"

Athena growls."_Shut up_!"

"**Naiads," I repeated, feeling completely overwhelmed."That's it. I want to go home now."**

**Annabeth frowned."Don't you get it, Percy? You **_**are**_** home. This is the only safe place on earth for kids like us."**

"**You mean, mentally disturbed kids?"**

"So glad that he thinks well of us," Connor comments.

"Feeling the love," adds Annabeth.

"Oh, he _does_ love you, Annabeth," Travis teases.

"Shut up!"

"Like mother, like daughter," Poseidon stage-whispers to Zeus.

"**I mean **_**not human**_**. Not totally human, anyway. Half-human."**

"**Half-human and half-what?"**

"God, of course! WE'RE AWESOME!" yells Hermes.

**I didn't want to admit it, but I was afraid I did. I felt a tingling in my limbs, a sensation I sometimes felt when my mom talked about my dad.**

"**God," I said."Half-god."**

"HE GOT IT!" gasps Thalia."The WORLD is ENDING!"

**Annabeth nodded."Your father isn't dead, Percy. He's one of the Olympians."**

"And one of your uncles is _not_," Hades adds bitterly.

"**That's ... crazy."**

"**Is it? What's the most common thing gods did in the old stories? They ran around falling in love with humans and having kids with them. Do you think they've changed their habits in the last few millennia?"**

"Nice to know you think so highly of us," Hephaestus says to Annabeth.

Annabeth shrugs."Have you?"

"**But those are just—" I almost said **_**myths**_** again. Then I remembered Chiron's warning that in two thousand years, **_**I**_** might be considered a myth."But if all the kids here are half-gods—"**

"**Demigods," Annabeth said."That's the official term. Or half-bloods."**

"**Then who's your dad?"**

"And out comes feminist Annabeth," announces Rachel.

Annabeth looks at her.

**Her hands tightened around the pier railing. I got the feeling I'd just trespassed on a sensitive subject.**

Thalia bites her lip, looking to Annabeth and wondering how she had taken it back then.

"**My dad is a professor at West Point," she said."I haven't seen him since I was very small. He teaches American history."**

"**He's human."**

"**What? You assume it has to be a male god who finds a human female attractive? How sexist is that?"**

"Very sexist," nods Demeter.

"**Who's your mom, then?"**

"**Cabin six."**

Hazel pauses her reading to look at Annabeth."You _expected_ him to know that? Didn't he just get there?"

"I wasn't thinking," sighs Annabeth.

"**Meaning?"**

"See?"

**Annabeth straightened."Athena. Goddess of wisdom and battle."**

**Okay, I thought. Why not?**

"**And my dad?"**

"**Undetermined," Annabeth said,"like I told you before. Nobody knows."**

"**Except my mother. She knew."**

"She did," agrees Poseidon.

"**Maybe not, Percy. Gods don't always reveal their identities."**

"**My dad would have. He loved her."**

"I did," clarifies Poseidon..

**Annabeth gave me a cautious look. She didn't want to burst my bubble.**

"I know that that's true now," Annabeth says.

"**Maybe you're right. Maybe he'll send a sign. That's the only way to know for sure: your father has to send you a sign claiming you as his son. Sometimes it happens."**

"**You mean sometimes it doesn't?"**

"I wasn't going to leave my son unclaimed, like some of you," Poseidon declares, glancing at his fellow Olympians.

Hermes gives his uncle a grateful look."Why can't you all be like him? Then maybe my cabin wouldn't be so crowded and my kids could get some breathing room!"

_And maybe the whole war wouldn't have started,_ adds Will silently in his head.

**Annabeth ran her palm along the rail."The gods are busy. They have a lot of kids and they don't always... Well, sometimes they don't care about us, Percy. They ignore us."**

The Olympians and Hades and Persephone look away guiltily.

**I thought about some of the kids I'd seen in the Hermes cabin, teenagers who looked sullen and depressed, as if they were waiting for a call that would never come. I'd known kids like that at Yancy Academy, shuffled off to boarding school by rich parents who didn't have the time to deal with them.**

Rachel nods bitterly."I sure know how that feels."

Piper looks at her in curiosity.

**But gods should behave better.**

"**So I'm stuck here," I said."That's it? For the rest of my life?"**

"**It depends," Annabeth said."Some campers only stay the summer. If you're a child of Aphrodite or Demeter, you're probably not a real powerful force.**

The goddesses in question, along with their present demigod children turn to Annabeth accusingly.

"And Athena is a powerful force? _I_ am one of the original six Olympians," Demeter reprimands Annabeth haughtily.

"We _are_ powerful forces. We helped in the war, didn't we?" adds Katie, looking disgruntled.

"And my children are perfectly good, thank you! Why _aren't_ they powerful forces, exactly?" asks Aphrodite irritably.

Piper scowls."_I_ am a powerful force, unlike some of my half-siblings. I didn't think you were someone to discriminate like that, Annabeth."

"I was _twelve_, people! Give me a break!"

**The monsters might ignore you, so you can get by with a few months of summer training and live in the mortal world the rest of the year.**

"I can't believe Percy could do that," Thalia murmurs to Annabeth.

"He _is_ a good fighter," points out Annabeth, but her heart aches at Thalia's use of 'could' instead of 'can'.

**But for some of us, it's too dangerous to leave. We're year-rounders.**

"You're just a year-rounder because then you won't have to deal with your stepfamily," snaps Katie, still fazed by what the past-Annabeth said.

Annabeth flinches.

**In the mortal world, we attract monsters. They sense us. They come to challenge us. Most of the time, they'll ignore us until we're old enough to cause trouble—about ten or eleven years old, but after that, most demigods either make their way here, or they get killed off. A few manage to survive in the outside world and become famous. Believe me, if I told you the names, you'd know them. Some don't even realize they're demigods. But very, very few are like that."**

"**So monsters can't get in here?"**

**Annabeth shook her head."Not unless they're intentionally stocked in the woods or specially summoned by somebody on the inside."**

Clarisse is reminded of the hellhound. Annabeth, thinking the same, glances at her.

"**Why would anybody want to summon a monster?"**

"**Practice fights. Practical jokes."**

"**Practical jokes?"**

"YEAH! PRACTICAL JOKES!" the twins, Hermes, and Apollo cheer.

"**The point is, the borders are sealed to keep mortals and monsters out. From the outside, mortals look into the valley and see nothing unusual, just a strawberry farm."**

"Except me," Rachel says proudly.

"And Sally," Annabeth reminds her."Sally's clear-sighted too," she explains to the rest of the Olympians.

"**So ... you're a year-rounder?"**

**Annabeth nodded. From under the collar of her T-shirt she pulled a leather necklace with five clay beads of different colors. It was just like Luke's, except Annabeth's also had a big gold ring strung on it, like a college ring.**

"**I've been here since I was seven," she said."Every August, on the last day of summer session, you get a bead for surviving another year.**

"So _that's_ what Percy's necklace was," muses Reyna."So it's like our tattoos?"

Jason nods slightly.

**I've been here longer than most of the counselors, and they're all in college."**

"**Why did you come so young?"**

**She twisted the ring on her necklace."None of your business."**

"Testy," Clarisse comments.

Annabeth glares at her.

"**Oh." I stood there for a minute in uncomfortable silence."So ... I could just walk out of here right now if I wanted to?"**

"Brilliant idea," Jason says sarcastically. Though it might be good, since then he wouldn't have survived and he wouldn't have to deal with the Percy dude.

"**It would be suicide, but you could, with Mr. D's or Chiron's permission. But they wouldn't give permission until the end of the summer session unless ..."**

"**Unless?"**

"A quest," Will replies quietly.

"**You were granted a quest. But that hardly ever happens. The last time ..."**

**Her voice trailed off. I could tell from her tone that the last time hadn't gone well.**

"**Back in the sick room," I said, "when you were feeding me that stuff—"**

"**Ambrosia."**

"**Yeah. You asked me something about the summer solstice."**

**Annabeth's shoulders tensed."So you **_**do**_** know something?"**

"**Well... no. Back at my old school, I overheard Grover and Chiron talking about it. Grover mentioned the summer solstice. He said something like we didn't have much time, because of the deadline. What did that mean?"**

"We all want to know," Hera says.

**She clenched her fists. "I wish I knew. Chiron and the satyrs, they know, but they won't tell me. Something is wrong in Olympus, something pretty major. Last time I was there, everything seemed so normal."**

"**You've been to Olympus?"**

The Romans look jealously at the Camp Half-Blood campers.

Clarisse rolls her eyes. "You punks, you're _at_ Olympus right now. Dummies."

"**Some of us year-rounders—Luke and Clarisse and I and a few others—we took a field trip during winter solstice. That's when the gods have their big annual council."**

"**But... how did you get there?"**

"**The Long Island Railroad, of course. You get off at Penn Station. Empire State Building, special elevator to the six hundredth floor." She looked at me like she was sure I must know this already. "You **_**are**_** a New Yorker, right?"**

"Aren't there only a hundred and two floors in the Empire State Building?" asks Hazel.

"Keep reading," replies Will.

**As far as I knew, there were only a hundred and two floors in the Empire State Building, but I decided not to point that out.**

"OH, MY DEAR SISTER," whines Nico. "PERCY, WHY, OH WHY MUST YOU INFECT HER TOO?"

"**Right after we visited," Annabeth continued, "the weather got weird, as if the gods had started fighting. A couple of times since, I've overheard satyrs talking. The best I can figure out is that something important was stolen.**

Athena's mind flashes back to the title of the book and she gasps loudly. But it couldn't be…

Annabeth, hearing her mother's gasp, glances quickly at her, and at her mother's questioning glance, Annabeth nods.

**And if it isn't returned by summer solstice, there's going to be trouble. When you came, I was hoping ... I mean— Athena can get along with just about anybody, except for Ares. And of course she's got the rivalry with Poseidon. **

Athena and Poseidon glare at each other.

**But, I mean, aside from that, I thought we could work together.**

"_Work_ together?" asks Connor, wiggling his eyebrows again.

**I thought you might know something."**

**I shook my head. I wished I could help her, but I felt too hungry and tired and mentally overloaded to ask any more questions.**

"**I've got to get a quest," Annabeth muttered to her-self. "I'm **_**not**_** too young. If they would just tell me the problem..."**

"You've never been given a quest?" Athena asks in shock.

Annabeth shakes her head. "Not then, no…"

"I'll be having a chat with Chiron…"

"Athena, a lot of us never got quests in our lives," Thalia says quietly.

**I could smell barbecue smoke coming from somewhere nearby. Annabeth must've heard my stomach growl. She told me to go on, she'd catch me later. I left her on the pier, tracing her finger across the rail as if drawing a battle plan.**

"She probably was," Travis says.

Athena smiles proudly, but her mind still dwindles on the fact that her smart daughter never had a chance to prove her exact intelligence level.

**Back at cabin eleven, everybody was talking and horsing around, waiting for dinner. For the first time, I noticed that a lot of the campers had similar features: sharp noses, upturned eyebrows, mischievous smiles.**

Hermes nods proudly, showcasing his own sharp nose, upturned eyebrows, and flashing his own mischievous smile, as his two sons did the same.

**They were the kind of kids that teachers would peg as troublemakers.**

"That's because we _are_," Connor informs the room at large.

**Thankfully, nobody paid much attention to me as I walked over to my spot on the floor and plopped down with my minotaur horn.**

**The counselor, Luke, came over. He had the Hermes family resemblance, too. It was marred by that scar on his right cheek, but his smile was intact.**

At the mention of the scar, Hermes flinches.

"**Found you a sleeping bag," he said. "And here, I stole you some toiletries from the camp store."**

**I couldn't tell if he was kidding about the stealing part.**

"Of course he wasn't!" Hermes exclaims indignantly. "_Any_ proper Hermes son would steal!"

Travis and Connor nod violently.

**I said, "Thanks."**

"**No prob." Luke sat next to me, pushed his back against the wall. "Tough first day?"**

"**I don't belong here," I said. "I don't even believe in gods."**

"Oh, he better," mumbles Dionysus.

"**Yeah," he said. "That's how we all started. Once you start believing in them? It doesn't get any easier."**

**The bitterness in his voice surprised me, because Luke seemed like a pretty easygoing guy.**

Travis snorts. "Easygoing. Right."

**He looked like he could handle just about anything.**

"Anything," repeats Connor.

"**So your dad is Hermes?" I asked.**

"Yes!" cheers Hermes.

**He pulled a switchblade out of his back pocket, and for a second I thought he was going to gut me,**

Hermes, shocked, looks at the book. "Why would my son gut a cabin mate?"

**but he just scraped the mud off the sole of his sandal. "Yeah. Hermes."**

"**The wing-footed messenger guy."**

"Why does everyone call me that?"

"**That's him. Messengers. Medicine. Travelers, merchants, thieves. Anybody who uses the roads. That's why you're here, enjoying cabin eleven's hospitality. Hermes isn't picky about who he sponsors."**

**I figured Luke didn't mean to call me a nobody. He just had a lot on his mind.**

"A lot on his mind," repeats Katie. "Yup."

"**You ever meet your dad?" I asked.**

"**Once."**

**I waited, thinking that if he wanted to tell me, he'd tell me. Apparently, he didn't. I wondered if the story had anything to do with how he got his scar.**

A disappointed Hermes asks, "Why didn't Luke want to tell Percy about meeting me?"

The older Greek demigods glance at each other, but stay silent.

Hermes looks at them in confusion, but doesn't press the matter. Maybe it would come up in the books.

**Luke looked up and managed a smile. "Don't worry about it, Percy. The campers here, they're mostly good people. After all, we're extended family, right? We take care of each other."**

"Hasn't Percy said that before?" Nico asks. "It came from Luke?"

Thalia looks at him. Her eyes turn sad. "Somehow, it sounds better coming from Percy's mouth, doesn't it, Annabeth?"

Annabeth looks back at her. She was proud of Luke for changing at the very end, and still loved him like a brother. "He did care for us, Thals."

"Not enough to give up his precious master, Kronos, right?" Thalia asks.

Annabeth bites her lip, staying silent this time.

Thalia also falls silent, depressed.

**He seemed to understand how lost I felt, and I was grateful for that, because an older guy like him—even if he was a counselor—should've steered clear of an uncool middle-schooler like me. But Luke had welcomed me into the cabin. He'd even stolen me some toiletries, which was the nicest thing anybody had done for me all day.**

"Nice," agrees Rachel sarcastically.

**I decided to ask him my last big question, the one that had been bothering me all afternoon. "Clarisse, from Ares, was joking about me being 'Big Three' material. Then Annabeth ... twice, she said I might be 'the one.' She said I should talk to the Oracle. What was that all about?"**

"That you get to visit my awesomely amazingly cool Oracle of course!" exclaims Apollo.

**Luke folded his knife. "I hate prophecies."**

Hermes frowns. "Why?" His usual playfulness is gone.

"**What do you mean?"**

**His face twitched around the scar. "Let's just say I messed things up for everybody else. The last two years, ever since my trip to the Garden of the Hesperides went sour, Chiron hasn't allowed any more quests. Annabeth's been dying to get out into the world. She pestered Chiron so much he finally told her he already knew her fate. He'd had a prophecy from the Oracle. He wouldn't tell her the whole thing, but he said Annabeth wasn't destined to go on a quest yet. She had to wait until... somebody special came to the camp."**

"Special all right," winks Aphrodite.

"APHRODITE!" yells Athena angrily.

"Aw, don't be such a spoilsport, Athena!" whines Aphrodite.

"**Don't worry about it, kid," Luke said. "Annabeth wants to think every new camper who comes through** **here is the omen she's been waiting for. Now, come on, it's dinnertime."**

"I hate how he talks about you like he _knows_ you," Nico says to Annabeth quietly.

"He does," Annabeth whispers back.

Nico's face twists. "You aren't the same person as you were when you were seven, Annabeth, and ever since he encountered Kronos, he's been distanced from you."

Annabeth looks at him sharply. "How would you know? You weren't there!"

The son of Hades looks away, deciding not to tell her about the stories he'd heard from other campers.

**The moment he said it, a horn blew in the distance. Somehow, I knew it was a conch shell, even though I'd never heard one before.**

"It's my call, that's why," Poseidon says.

"Whoa, Uncle P is on a roll today! And Athena is on a _splat_ today," adds Apollo, earning himself a glare from the mentioned goddess.

**Luke yelled, "Eleven, fall in!"**

**The whole cabin, about twenty of us, filed into the commons yard. We lined up in order of seniority, so of course I was dead last.**

Thalia smirks, the corners of her mouth twitching. "Of course."

Jason looks at her in jealousy. Even his own _sister_ loved the Percy guy better than him, her own _brother_.

**Campers came from the other cabins, too, except for the three empty cabins at the end, and cabin eight, which had looked normal in the daytime, but was now starting to glow silver as the sun went down.**

"And the moon comes up," Artemis adds, smiling at the mental image of her cabin.

"THE HUNTERS OF ARTEMIS!" shouts Thalia, grinning now.

Artemis beams at her future lieutenant. Maybe Thalia Grace wasn't exactly Zoë Nightshade, but she seemed loyal.

**We marched up the hill to the mess hall pavilion. Satyrs joined us from the meadow. Naiads emerged from the canoeing lake. A few other girls came out of the woods— and when I say out of the woods, I mean **_**straight **_**out of the woods. I saw one girl, about nine or ten years old, melt from the side of a maple tree and come skipping up the hill.**

**In all, there were maybe a hundred campers, a few dozen satyrs, and a dozen assorted wood nymphs and naiads.**

"Only a hundred?" scoffs Octavian. "What a small camp."

"A hundred?" repeat Jason, Piper, and Leo, looking at Annabeth for an explanation.

It is Will, however, who explains, "That was before a new rule was made. Now we have just as much as Camp Jupiter, I'm estimating."

"New rule?" Zeus questions curiously, wondering what type of rule his future self would create.

**At the pavilion, torches blazed around the marble columns. A central fire burned in a bronze brazier the size of a bathtub.**

Reyna leans forward, eager to hear what that was for.

**Each cabin had its own table, covered in white cloth trimmed in purple. Four of the tables were empty, but cabin eleven's was way overcrowded. I had to squeeze on to the edge of a bench with half my butt hanging off.**

"Descriptive," comments Demeter dryly.

**I saw Grover sitting at table twelve with Mr. D, a few satyrs, and a couple of plump blond boys who looked just like Mr. D.**

"Plump? My sons are not _plump_!" Dionysus cries, indignant.

**Chiron stood to one side, the picnic table being way too small for a centaur.**

**Annabeth sat at table six with a bunch of serious-looking athletic kids, all with her gray eyes and honey-blond hair.**

"Do all your children have your eyes?" Poseidon inquires of Athena.

The Wisdom (or Not-So-Wise-Today) Goddess nods proudly, grinning.

"Damn," Poseidon says, "we don't need so many duplicates of you walking around."

Everyone roars with laughter except Athena and Annabeth.

**Clarisse sat behind me at Ares's table. She'd apparently gotten over being hosed down, because she was laughing and belching right alongside her friends.**

"Belching?" repeats Aphrodite. "That is _disgusting_, especially for a girl. Ares, your children are _so_ improper."

Ares looks offended as Hephaestus looks smug.

Clarisse glares at the cheesy goddess. "We are _not_ improper. And 'especially for a girl'? That's so sexist."

Now Ares glares at his daughter. That _sweetheart_ just _had_ to ruin the slim chance of him winning his girlfriend back, didn't she?

**Finally, Chiron pounded his hoof against the marble floor of the pavilion, and everybody fell silent. He raised a glass. "To the gods!"**

**Everybody else raised their glasses. "To the gods!"**

**Wood nymphs came forward with platters of food: grapes, apples, strawberries, cheese, fresh bread, and yes, barbecue! My glass was empty, but Luke said, "Speak to it. Whatever you want—nonalcoholic, of course."**

"Of course," agrees Dionysus in disappointment.

**I said, "Cherry Coke."**

**The glass filled with sparkling caramel liquid.**

**Then I had an idea. "**_**Blue**_** Cherry Coke."**

**The soda turned a violent shade of cobalt.**

Annabeth smiles fondly. "Blue food."

**I took a cautious sip. Perfect.**

**I drank a toast to my mother.**

**She's not gone, I told myself. Not permanently, anyway. She's in the Underworld. And if that's a real place, then someday...**

Nico lowers his head, remembering Bianca. How lucky Percy was… thinking his loved one was dead and gone, then getting her back again…

Hazel, seeing this, sighs. She can't help but feel jealous toward Bianca di Angelo, whom Hazel knew that Nico would trade her for in a heartbeat had he the chance.

"**Here you go, Percy," Luke said, handing me a platter of smoked brisket.**

**I loaded my plate and was about to take a big bite when I noticed everybody getting up, carrying their plates toward the fire in the center of the pavilion. I wondered if they were going for dessert or something.**

Now Frank has also leaned forward, staring at the book in Hazel's hands. Octavia sat flat against the back of his chair, his arms crossed huffily. Hazel is gazing at the book intensely.

"Dessert," snorts Connor.

"**Come on," Luke told me.**

**As I got closer, I saw that everyone was taking a portion of their meal and dropping it into the fire, the ripest strawberry, the juiciest slice of beef, the warmest, most buttery roll.**

The Romans, even Octavian this time, have looks of polite (or rude, in Octavian's case) curiosity on their faces.

Apollo begins to drool, as does Hermes. "That stuff smells heavenly, like the Elysian Fields," mumbles Apollo, slipping into a subconscious.

Will looks at his father in concern.

**Luke murmured in my ear, "Burnt offerings for the gods. They like the smell."**

Now Hazel, Frank, and Reyna look surprised.

"Burnt offerings for the gods?" Hazel repeats her reading.

"Weird…" murmurs Frank.

"They like the smell? Perhaps we should start doing that at Camp Jupiter as well," muses Reyna.

"No! These books are terrible! They are brainwashing our praetor into believing in the ways of the _graceus_!" Octavian bursts out, standing angrily.

Reyna also stands. "It was merely a suggestion, Octavian! Do you not wish to please our parents, the mighty gods of Olympus? And might I remind you that _I_ am praetor, not you? Our other praetor, Percy Jackson, is a Greek! Our people raised him to praetor on the battlefield! Do not disrespect the ways of our parents' counterparts' children, Octavian. You are allowed to have your own opinion, but _please_ do not grace us with it in loud outbursts every time!"

Octavian sits back down, his eyes wide in shock. Reyna hardly ever was like this.

Breathing heavily, Reyna resumes her seat, glancing for a long moment at the empty one beside her. She couldn't wait until Percy showed up and could help her control that out-of-control good-for-nothing descendant of Apollo and his stuffed animals.

"**You're kidding."**

**His look warned me not to take this lightly, but I couldn't help wondering why an immortal, all-powerful being would like the smell of burning food.**

"IT'S HEAVENLY!" repeats Apollo loudly, drool slipping down his chin.

Artemis, catching sight of this, winces in disgust.

**Luke approached the fire, bowed his head, and tossed in a cluster of fat red grapes. "Hermes."**

Hermes sniffs the air dreamily. "I can almost smell it…"

**I was next.**

**I wished I knew what god's name to say.**

"You will soon, son, I hope," mutters Poseidon under his breath.

**Finally, I made a silent plea. **_**Whoever you are, tell me. Please.**_

**I scraped a big slice of brisket into the flames.**

**When I caught a whiff of the smoke, I didn't gag.**

**It smelled nothing like burning food. It smelled of hot chocolate and fresh-baked brownies, hamburgers on the grill and wildflowers, and a hundred other good things that shouldn't have gone well together, but it did. I could almost believe the gods could live off that smoke.**

"I could," drools Hermes.

**When everybody had returned to their seats and finished eating their meals, Chiron pounded his hoof again for our attention.**

"Sounds useful. I would need more than a hoof to get the legionnaires' attention, though," Reyna comments, glaring pointedly at Octavian. "Though, with Percy there, it goes slightly easier."

Annabeth blanches, trying not to feel jealous. These violent Romans were getting her boyfriend for the months she was not able to see him. And this girl worked so _closely_ with Percy too!

**Mr. D got up with a huge sigh. "Yes, I suppose I'd better say hello to all you brats. Well, hello. Our activities director, Chiron, says the next capture the flag is Friday. Cabin five presently holds the laurels."**

"ARES!" yell Ares and Clarisse.

"Dionysus, you better act better toward those children," warns Zeus.

"Yes, yes, Father, whatever you say," responds Dionysus idly, flipping a page in his magazine of wine.

**A bunch of ugly cheering rose from the Ares table.**

"**Personally," Mr. D continued, "I couldn't care less, but congratulations. Also, I should tell you that we have a new camper today. Peter Johnson."**

The Greek demigods roll their eyes.

"He never gets our names right," Rachel informs the gods.

"It gets very infuriating," adds Will.

**Chiron murmured something.**

"CHIRON TO THE RESCUE!" cheers Apollo.

"**Er, Percy Jackson," Mr. D corrected. "That's right. Hurrah, and all that. Now run along to your silly campfire. Go on."**

"SILLY? THE CAMPFIRE SILLY?" screeches Apollo indignantly, pointing at Dionysus. "I'll have you know, the campfire is NOT SILLY!"

**Everybody cheered. We all headed down toward the amphitheater, where Apollo's cabin led a sing-along. **

"My _awesome_ cabin," corrects Apollo, while Will nods in agreement.

**We sang camp songs about the gods and ate s'mores and joked around, and the funny thing was, I didn't feel that anyone was staring at me anymore. I felt that I was home.**

"You are," murmurs Thalia, smiling softly.

"I love that feeling," adds Katie, also grinning.

Frank and Hazel exchange looks. They wished that Camp Jupiter could be more like that.

"It is very comfortable there," agrees Jason.

"Home," finishes Piper.

**Later in the evening, when the sparks from the campfire were curling into a starry sky, the conch horn blew again, and we all filed back to our cabins. I didn't realize how exhausted I was until I collapsed on my borrowed sleeping bag.**

**My fingers curled around the Minotaur's horn. I thought about my mom, but I had good thoughts: her smile, the bedtime stories she would read me when I was a kid, the way she would tell me not to let the bedbugs bite.**

Clarisse rolls her eyes. "Prissy."

"Clarisse," warns Poseidon, his sea-green eyes flashing.

Annabeth looks away, her mind filling unexpectedly with images of Seaweed Brain.

**When I closed my eyes, I fell asleep instantly.**

**That was my first day at Camp Half-Blood.**

**I wish I'd known how briefly I would get to enjoy my new home.**

Silence follows the chapter's ending for a moment, before Persephone breaks it by saying, "I live in the Underworld, and _that_ is gloomy."

"What's wrong with the Underworld?" asks Hades, surprised.

"Nothing," she reassures him quickly. "But it _is_ kind of gloomy down there, what with all the shadows and stuff."

Nico shrugs. "She's right, Dad."

"Who wants to read next?" questions Hazel.

"I will," offers Reyna, holding up her hand.

Hazel passes the book gently to her praetor.

"After this chapter, we will go to bed," Hera announces in a firm voice.

No one dares argue, but Annabeth catches Thalia biting her lip so hard, she wouldn't be surprised if blood spurted from the lip.

x.o.x.o.x.

A/N: This is just two days later! So much better! The PDF worked okay, but it wasn't the best PDF. I just Googled it and this one came up. If you spot any mistakes, please tell me and I'll fix it, thanks! Also, if you have a good PDF of _The Lightning Thief_, I'd appreciate it if you could give me the link! Love you all!


	8. We Capture a Flag

A/N: Not as quick as last chapter, but quicker than some. I hope you enjoy!

x.o.x.o.x.

**We Capture a Flag,**__read Reyna. "Interesting. Is this kind of like the war games we play at Camp Jupiter?"

"_Play_? We don't _play_, praetor. Those are real life training skills," contradicts Octavian.

Reyna glares at him. "I didn't ask for your opinion, thank you, Octavian."

"War games?" repeats Piper.

"More violent than your Capture the Flag games, I suppose," Hazel replies.

**The next few days I settled into a routine that felt almost normal, if you don't count the fact that I was getting lessons from satyrs, nymphs, and a centaur.**

"_Normal_ people don't get taught by _fauns_, nymphs, and a centaur," Octavian says snidely.

Getting fed up with the Roman's constant interruptions and snide comments, Annabeth glares full-force at him. "You. Will. Shut. Up." Her grey eyes flash angrily.

**Each morning I took Ancient Greek from Annabeth, and we talked about the gods and goddesses in the present tense, which was kind of weird.**

"What? We're real, so why not talk about us in the present tense?" asks Demeter, offended. "Perhaps I was wrong. This boy should spend some time behind a plow."

**I discovered Annabeth was right about my dyslexia: Ancient Greek wasn't that hard for me to read. At least, no harder than English.**

Frank nods. "Same with Latin. Though I think Latin is more important, since the modern world does use Latin. Ancient Greek, however, _is_ ancient." He looks apologetically at the Greeks. "Not that I don't like you, it's just…"

"Fair point," Annabeth interrupts, smiling. "But Ancient Greek is more interesting. It's so cool to be able to say that you can read, speak, and understand an ancient language."

**After a couple of mornings, I could stumble through a few lines of Homer without too much headache. **

"I can stumble through an entire chapter," Nico brags.

"In about a week," Thalia adds.

**The rest of the day, I'd rotate through outdoor activities, looking for something I was good at. **

"Good at? Percy?" teases Connor lightly.

**Chiron tried to teach me archery, but we found out pretty quick I wasn't any good with a bow and arrow. He didn't complain, even when he had to desnag a stray arrow out of his tail. **

"Nope, only _my_ kids are the best at archery!" Apollo cheers.

"My children are fair at it," Demeter sniffs haughtily.

Katie smiles. "Not really, Mother."

"And my Hunters have more precision," Artemis adds.

Apollo rolls his eyes. "Geez! Chill! Though I _am_ the God of the Sun, so I'm pretty hot…" He smirks and winks.

His twin sister looks away in disgust.

**Foot racing? No good either. The wood-nymph instructors left me in the dust. They told me not to worry about it. They'd had centuries of practice running away from lovesick gods. But still, it was a little humiliating to be slower than a tree. **

"It would be," agrees Persephone.

**And wrestling? Forget it. Every time I got on the mat, Clarisse would pulverize me.**

"That's right," Ares says.

**"There's more where that came from, punk," she'd mumble in my ear. **

"There is," mutters the present Clarisse.

Annabeth smiles at her. "Is there really?"

Clarisse scowls.

**The only thing I really excelled at was canoeing, and that wasn't the kind of heroic skill people expected to see from the kid who had beaten the Minotaur.**

"That's because canoeing is in the water, and his father is connected strongly to water," Athena remarks.

**I knew the senior campers and counselors were watching me, trying to decide who my dad was, but they weren't having an easy time of it. **

Poseidon shakes his head. "My children aren't easy to distinguish, but once something major happens, it's clear."

**I wasn't as strong as the Ares kids, or as good at archery as the Apollo kids.**

"Thank Hades you're _not_ my son," Ares mumbles. "Then I wouldn't get to pulverize you like Clarisse did."

"And _my_ kids are awesome at archery!"

**I didn't have Hephaestus's skill with metalwork or-gods forbid- Dionysus's way with vine plants.**

"Thank Hades," Dionysus says.

"You're welcome," mutters Hades.

**Luke told me I might be a child of Hermes, a kind of jack-of-all-trades, master of none. **

Hermes gasps in mock-offense. "Master of _none_?"

**But I got the feeling he was just trying to make me feel better. He really didn't know what to make of me either.**

**Despite all that, I liked camp. I got used to the morning fog over the beach, the smell of hot strawberry fields in the afternoon, even the weird noises of monsters in the woods at night. I would eat dinner with cabin eleven, scrape part of my meal into the fire, and try to feel some connection to my real dad. Nothing came. Just that warm feeling I'd always had, like the memory of his smile.**

"Better a warm feeling than nothing at all," Will observes quietly.

**I tried not to think too much about my mom, but I kept wondering: if gods and monsters were real, if all this magical stuff was possible, surely there was some way to save her, to bring her back... **

Poseidon groans. "Stupid plan."

"Like always," grins Katie.

**I started to understand Luke's bitterness and how he seemed to resent his father, Hermes. So okay, maybe gods had important things to do.**

"_Quite_ important," Zeus grumbles.

**But couldn't they call once in a while, or thunder, or something?**

The Olympians snort, looking at Zeus. Thunder _once in a while_?

**Dionysus could make Diet Coke appear out of thin air. Why couldn't my dad, whoever he was, make a phone appear?**

"Against the ancient laws and _his_ laws," Poseidon comments, pointing at Zeus.

**Thursday afternoon, three days after I'd arrived at Camp Half-Blood, I had my first sword-fighting lesson. Every-body from cabin eleven gathered in the big circular arena, where Luke would be our instructor. **

"The best swordsman in three hundred years," Hermes states proudly.

Annabeth bites her lip, trying to stifle a smile.

**We started with basic stabbing and slashing, using some straw-stuffed dummies in Greek armor. I guess I did okay. At least, I understood what I was supposed to do and my reflexes were good.**

"ADHD and instinct," Athena replies.

**The problem was, I couldn't find a blade that felt right in my hands. Either they were too heavy, or too light, or too long. Luke tried his best to fix me up, but he agreed that none of the practice blades seemed to work for me. **

"Because he'll have Riptide," Poseidon remarks, looking at Annabeth for confirmation.

**We moved on to dueling in pairs. Luke announced he would be my partner, since this was my first time.**

Will snorts. "_Since_ it was his _first_ time?"

**"Good luck," one of the campers told me. "Luke's the best swordsman in the last three hundred years."**

"Me!" cheers Connor.

"Best swordsman in the last three hundred years is _my_ son," Hermes boasts to the rest of the council.

**"Maybe he'll go easy on me," I said.**

"You wish, Jackson!"

"Fifty drachmas Percy's going to win," Poseidon challenges Hermes.

A boyish grin spreads across Hermes's face. "Deal, Uncle P! Prepare to _lose_, you old _loser_!"

**The camper snorted.**

Like Poseidon does.

**Luke showed me thrusts and parries and shield blocks the hard way. With every swipe, I got a little more battered and bruised. "Keep your guard up, Percy," he'd say, then whap me in the ribs with the flat of his blade. "No, not that far up!" Whap! "Lunge!" Whap! "Now, back!" Whap!**

"See?" Hermes asks smugly, holding out his hand.

Poseidon shakes his head. "It isn't over yet."

**By the time he called a break, I was soaked in sweat. Everybody swarmed the drinks cooler. Luke poured ice water on his head, which looked like such a good idea, I did the same.**

Hermes's face falls. "Damn. _Not_ fair!"

Poseidon smirks.

"It isn't over yet?" Hermes asks, repeating his words.

Poseidon shakes his head, grinning.

**Instantly, I felt better. Strength surged back into my arms. The sword didn't feel so awkward.**

Hermes begins to mumble under his breath about 'stupid Big Three water skills'.

**"Okay, everybody circle up!" Luke ordered. "If Percy doesn't mind, I want to give you a little demo."**

Poseidon rolls his eyes. "Yup. My son doesn't mind."

**Great, I thought. Let's all watch Percy get pounded.**

Clarisse and Ares smile. "My favorite show," they say together.

**The Hermes guys gathered around. They were suppressing smiles. I figured they'd been in my shoes before and couldn't wait to see how Luke used me for a punching bag.**

Travis nods. "We have. Many times."

**He told everybody he was going to demonstrate a disarming technique: how to twist the enemy's blade with the flat of your own sword so that he had no choice but to drop his weapon.**

**"This is difficult," he stressed. "I've had it used against me. No laughing at Percy, now. Most swordsmen have to work years to master this technique. "**

"It took me three weeks," Clarisse brags loudly.

"Of course it did, you're my daughter," replies Ares proudly.

"Took me two," Thalia informs Clarisse.

Zeus grins. "That's Thalia."

**He demonstrated the move on me in slow motion. Sure enough, the sword clattered out of my hand. **

"WHOOP! Pay up, Uncle P!" Hermes cheers, holding out his hand.

Again, Poseidon grins. "Not just yet, little Hermes. That was in slow motion."

Hermes glares at him. "I am not _little_."

**"Now in real time," he said, after I'd retrieved my weapon. "We keep sparring until one of us pulls it off. Ready, Percy?"**

"As he'll ever be," mutters Nico.

**I nodded, and Luke came after me. Somehow, I kept him from getting a shot at the hilt of my sword. My senses opened up.**

Artemis's eyebrows go up slightly. "Very impressive for a beginner."

**I saw his attacks coming. I countered. I stepped forward and tried a thrust of my own. Luke deflected it easily, but I saw a change in his face. His eyes narrowed, and he started to press me with more force. **

Annabeth and Thalia exchange a look.

**The sword grew heavy in my hand. The balance wasn't right. I knew it was only a matter of seconds before Luke took me down, so I figured, What the heck?**

Poseidon now grins triumphantly as Hermes groans in disappointment.

**I tried the disarming maneuver. **

"If he can pull it off…'' trails off Hephaestus.

**My blade hit the base of Luke's and I twisted, putting my whole weight into a downward thrust. **

**Clang. **

"Pay up, Hermes!" Poseidon cheers. "_My son_ beat yours!"

Hermes, grumbling, pulls out fifty drachmas. "Here. And it wasn't fair. He had _water_ on his side."

"Tough," Poseidon shrugs, pocketing the drachmas. "I'm fifty drachmas richer!"

"Yeah, that's a lot," Zeus says sarcastically, "when you're the lord of the seas."

**Luke's sword rattled against the stones. The tip of my blade was an inch from his undefended chest. **

"Undefended," huffs Hermes disapprovingly.

**The other campers were silent. **

"We were shocked," Connor says. "Luke was supposed to be the best swordsman in three hundred years, and here was this new beginner who had just disarmed him successfully on his _first try_."

"Clarisse, Thalia?" Nico asks.

Clarisse glares at him, and Thalia looks at him.

"Percy took one try to master it," Nico says, laughing.

**I lowered my sword. "Um, sorry."**

"Only Percy would apologize after disarming an opponent," Hazel remarks, rolling her eyes but laughing.

**For a moment, Luke was too stunned to speak. **

"**Sorry?" His scarred face broke into a grin. "By the gods, Percy, why are you sorry? Show me that again!"**

**I didn't want to. The short burst of manic energy had completely abandoned me. But Luke insisted. **

"He would, wouldn't he?" Thalia asks dryly.

**This time, there was no contest. The moment our swords connected, Luke hit my hilt and sent my weapon skidding across the floor. **

"Can I have twenty-five drachmas?" Hermes whines.

Poseidon shakes his head. "Nope."

**After a long pause, somebody in the audience said, "Beginner's luck?"**

"If having beginner's luck repeats about a million times, yes," Annabeth replies.

"Don't mock me, Annie Bell," Connor pouts. "_I_ said that.

"Don't call me Annie Bell!"

"Yes, that's the nickname only Mr. D can call you, right?" teases Travis.

"_Shut up, you two_!"

**Luke wiped the sweat off his brow. He appraised at me with an entirely new interest. "Maybe," he said. "But I wonder what Percy could do with a balanced sword..."**

"Much better than he could without an unbalanced sword," Nico says.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," answers Rachel.

**Friday afternoon, I was sitting with Grover at the lake, resting from a near-death experience on the climbing wall.**

Nico shivers. "I _despise_ that wall."

**Grover had scampered to the top like a mountain goat, but the lava had almost gotten me. My shirt had smoking holes in it. The hairs had been singed off my forearms. **

"Near-death experience, huh? Same for me," Nico comments.

"Near-death? That's always you, Nico," Thalia responds.

Nico rolls his eyes. "Original, Pine-Cone-Face."

**We sat on the pier, watching the naiads do underwater basket-weaving, until I got up the nerve to ask Grover how his conversation had gone with Mr. D. **

**His face turned a sickly shade of yellow. **

"Pleasant," comments Aphrodite.

**"Fine," he said. "Just great."**

"You need to be kinder with the satyrs, Dionysus," Hestia scolds her nephew gently.

"Yes, Lady Hestia," Dionysus mumbles.

**"So your career's still on track?"**

**He glanced at me nervously. "Chiron t-told you I want a searcher's license?"**

**"Well... No."**

"Poor satyr," coos Persephone.

**I had no idea what a searcher's license was, but it didn't seem like the right time to ask.**

"Did Prissy _Jackson_ just use _tact_?" gasps Clarisse.

**"He just said you had big plans, you know ... And that you needed credit for completing a keeper's assignment. So did you get it?"**

**Grover looked down at the naiads.**

"Hmm… nice match, I think," Aphrodite muses.

The older Greek demigods look at each other, remembering Juniper and thinking that she would _not_ be happy with Grover _or_ the Love Goddess.

**"Mr. D suspended judgment. He said I hadn't failed or succeeded with you yet, so our fates were still tied together. If you got a quest and I went along to protect you, and we both came back alive, then maybe he'd consider the job complete."**

"Hopefully _he_ would the one to _not_ come back alive," Zeus mutters.

"_Father_!" yells Thalia, and lightning flashes.

Everyone looks at her.

"Father, are you angry?" Athena asks gently, referring to the lightning.

But Zeus looks confused. "I didn't do that."

Thalia coughs quietly and looks away.

**My spirits lifted. "Well, that's not so bad, right?"**

**"Blaa-ha-ha! He might as well have transferred me to stable-cleaning duty. The chances of you getting a quest... And even if you did, why would you want me along?"**

"Because he is loyal to his friends," Annabeth replies quietly.

At her daughter's statement, Athena's mind begins to work out what the boy's fatal flaw could be.

**"Of course I'd want you along!"**

"Such a sweet boy," coos Demeter. "Maybe I was wrong about the need of farming."

"I wonder why she doesn't take that view on me," Nico mutters to Annabeth and Thalia.

"Because you're scrawny, Death Breath," teases Thalia.

"Shut it, Tree Bark."

"Tree Bark? Original," Thalia replies, raising an eyebrow.

**Grover stared glumly into the water. "Basket-weaving ... Must be nice to have a useful skill."**

"Weaving is a useful skill," nods Athena.

**I tried to reassure him that he had lots of talents, but that just made him look more miserable. We talked about canoeing and swordplay for a while, then debated the pros and cons of the different gods.**

"And what exactly were the pros and cons of me?" Poseidon asks, smiling.

**Finally, I asked him about the four empty cabins. **

**"Number eight, the silver one, belongs to Artemis," he said. "She vowed to be a maiden forever. **

"Of course I did," scoffs Artemis. "Men… _so_ irresponsible and disgusting."

"You know you love us!" Apollo teases her.

**So of course, no kids. The cabin is, you know, honorary. If she didn't have one, she'd be mad."**

"I would," agrees Artemis. "After all, where would my Hunters sleep?"

"And _no one_ worries about where _my children_ would sleep," mutters Hades. "Why don't they cram into the Hermes cabin?"

Hermes glares at him, as does Artemis.

**"Yeah, okay. But the other three, the ones at the end. Are those the Big Three?**

"No!" Hera cries. "One of them, the _most_ beautiful one is _mine_!"

"Childish," mutters Hades to Poseidon.

"A child and a drama queen. A match made in heaven," his brother replies quietly.

**Grover tensed. We were getting close to a touchy subject. "No. One of them, number two, is Hera's," he said. "That's another honorary thing. She's the goddess of marriage, so of course she wouldn't go around having affairs with mortals.**

"Of course I wouldn't," Hera says. "_No one_ should," she adds indignantly, staring pointedly at her husband, who looks away.

**That's her husband's job.**

"OI!" yells Zeus.

His wife rolls her eyes. "Shut it, Zeus, we all know it's true."

**When we say the Big Three, we mean the three powerful brothers, the sons of Kronos."**

The six original Olympians shiver.

"The satyr forgot that we're not only his sons, we were his _food_," Poseidon remarks darkly.

Nico looks horrified and turns his horrified eyes on Thalia. "That makes Kronos our _grandfather_!"

Now Thalia shudders. "Stop it, Nico. That's just creepy. What if someone asked us who our grandfather was and what he did? I can just imagine our answers: Oh, not much, he's just the evil Titan lord, you know, the Lord of Time, Kronos? His job? He messes around with time and threatens the lives of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and fights his grandson to the death. Plus takes over the body of his great-grandson. Not much."

**"Zeus, Poseidon, Hades."**

**"Right. You know. After the great battle with the Titans, they took over the world from their dad and drew lots to decide who got what."**

Hades looks bitter. "Fair lot, that was."

**"Zeus got the sky," I remembered. "Poseidon the sea, Hades the Underworld."**

Hades begins to mutter under his breath.

"You know, my lord, if you hadn't received the Underworld, where would you have dragged me to?" Persephone wonders, with the motive to calm her husband down.

Her husband pauses in his muttering, though his black eyes are still flaring.

"After all, my mother could have found me perfectly fine on Olympus, and in the sea as well," Persephone points out. "So in a way, you selecting the Underworld was a good thing. The Fates were on your side."

Zeus looks at his daughter gratefully, silently thanking her for averting a fight.

**"Uh-huh."**

**"But Hades doesn't have a cabin here."**

"Until now," murmurs Nico, smiling at the reminder of Cabin Thirteen, his cabin.

**"No. He doesn't have a throne on Olympus, either. He sort of does his own thing down in the Underworld. If he did have a cabin here ..." Grover shuddered. "Well, it wouldn't be pleasant. Let's leave it at that."**

"Why wouldn't it be?" Hades demands defensively.

"Father… I promise good things happen in the future. Please stay calm," Nico pleads.

Hades looks at his son, and surprisingly obliges. Hazel looks at her brother, surprised, before returning to the book.

**"But Zeus and Poseidon-they both had, like, a bazillion kids in the myths.**

Hera glares not only at her own husband, but at her brother as well. "You'd do well to be faithful to your wives, you know."

Poseidon shifts uncomfortably, glad that Amphitrite isn't present.

Zeus averts his gaze from his wife's.

**Why are their cabins empty?"**

**Grover shifted his hooves uncomfortably. "About sixty years ago, after World War II, the Big Three agreed they wouldn't sire any more heroes.**

"That worked out," notes Rachel sarcastically, looking at Thalia and thinking of Percy.

"I find it ironic that Lord Hades was the only one not to fall off the wagon," Artemis comments.

Hades rolls his eyes. "Dear niece, ruling the Underworld takes more responsibility than my idiotic brothers can even begin to imagine."

"At least _I_ have enough responsibility to _care_ about my son," Poseidon snaps, not bothering to feel guilty. He had marginal knowledge of how demigods felt about their godly parents, and was glad he took the time to visit Percy once in a while.

His brothers wince, as do the other deities, but make no comment.

The demigods look at each other, the Romans in surprise. Perhaps Neptune _wasn't_ all bad…

**Their children were just too powerful. They were affecting the course of human events too much, causing too much carnage. World War II, you know, that was basically a fight between the sons of Zeus and Poseidon on one side, and the sons of Hades on the other. The winning side, Zeus and Poseidon, made Hades swear an oath with them: no more affairs with mortal women. They all swore on the River Styx."**

"Which basically makes no difference, since they're immortal and the only ones that get affected are _us_," Thalia says, referring to herself and Percy.

Poseidon and Zeus both grimace.

**Thunder boomed. **

**I said, "That's the most serious oath you can make."**

"At least he knows something," mutters Athena, still ruffled by the fact that the sea spawn was with her favorite daughter.

**Grover nodded. **

**"And the brothers kept their word-no kids?"**

"We're living proof that no, they did not," mumbles Thalia, this time including Jason in her referral.

**Grover's face darkened. "Seventeen years ago, Zeus fell off the wagon.**

Hera's face also darkens at the reminder of Thalia and Jason's mother.

**There was this TV starlet with a big fluffy eighties hairdo-he just couldn't help himself.**

Now Hera growls. "Since when can Zeus _ever_ help himself?"

Zeus flinches.

**When their child was born, a little girl named Thalia... Well, the River Styx is serious about promises. Zeus himself got off easy because he's immortal, but he brought a terrible fate on his daughter."**

Thalia looks distinctly fazed. "Terrible fate it was."

Zeus looks away in guilt.

**"But that isn't fair. It wasn't the little girl's fault."**

The girl in question manages a dry laugh. "I'm older than you, Fish Face," she says to the book.

**Grover hesitated. "Percy, children of the Big Three have powers greater than other half-bloods. They have a strong aura, a scent that attracts monsters. When Hades found out about the girl, he wasn't too happy about Zeus breaking his oath. Hades let the worst monsters out of Tartarus to torment Thalia.**

Hades braces himself for the glare that Zeus sends his way.

"I also happen to be the only one mature enough not to send any monsters after your children, wasn't I, Zeus? Apparently I was, according to the book," Poseidon muses.

**A satyr was assigned to be her keeper when she was twelve, but there was nothing he could do. He tried to escort her here with a couple of other half-bloods she'd befriended.**

Annabeth closes her eyes briefly and Thalia reaches over to take her hand. They are both thinking of Luke.

**They almost made it. They got all the way to the top of that hill."**

"He's talking about it like he _wasn't_ the satyr to be her keeper," Zeus mutters darkly, angry.

**He pointed across the valley, to the pine tree where I'd fought the minotaur. "All three Kindly Ones were after them, along with a horde of hellhounds.**

"Alecto did a good job," Hades compliments the absent Fury.

"_Hades_," growls Zeus, glaring at him forcefully.

**They were about to be overrun when Thalia told her satyr to take the other two half-bloods to safety while she held off the monsters. She was wounded and tired, and she didn't want to live like a hunted animal.**

"Which was all my fault," Zeus murmurs to himself, a sad look passing over his face.

**The satyr didn't want to leave her, but he couldn't change her mind, and he had to protect the others. So Thalia made her final stand alone, at the top of that hill. As she died, Zeus took pity on her.**

"Of course I did. I didn't want my daughter to die at such a young age," Zeus declares.

"As touching as that _is_, Father, have you ever supposed that I did want to die? As it says, I didn't want to live like a hunted animal!" Thalia argues.

Zeus looks down, suddenly immersed in his hands.

**He turned her into that pine tree. Her spirit still helps protect the borders of the valley. That's why the hill is called Half-Blood Hill."**

**I stared at the pine in the distance. **

**The story made me feel hollow, and guilty too. A girl my age had sacrificed herself to save her friends.**

"Percy would do the same for us," Thalia comments, her voice hoarse and cracking. "I didn't know him at the time, but now I know. He would die to give us the world."

All those who know Percy nod solemnly and Jason's face twists. Of course, the guy earned the respect of all _his_ friends too. What a surprise.

**She had faced a whole army of monsters. Next to that, my victory over the Minotaur didn't seem like much.**

"It wasn't at the time," whispers Thalia. "But with everything he could put on his resume, I doubt that my feat would even stand up there."

**I wondered, if I'd acted differently, could I have saved my mother?**

**"Grover," I said, "have heroes really gone on quests to the Underworld?"**

Poseidon groans. "Not this again."

**"Sometimes," he said. "Orpheus. Hercules. Houdini."**

Persephone sighs dreamily. "Orpheus. You know, he really was quite good-looking. I might have expressed some interest in him if he hadn't been to my home to claim his own love."

Hades glares at her. "Your husband is sitting right here, might I remind you, Persephone?"

His wife rolls her eyes. "And your demigod son is sitting right over there, my lord. At least I didn't actually have a child with him, unlike some people I know."

**"And have they ever returned somebody from the dead?"**

**"No. Never. Orpheus came close... Percy, you're not seriously thinking-"**

**"No," I lied. "I was just wondering. So ... A satyr is always assigned to guard a demigod?"**

**Grover studied me warily. I hadn't persuaded him that I'd really dropped the Underworld idea. "Not always. We go undercover to a lot of schools. We try to sniff out the half-bloods who have the makings of great heroes. If we find one with a very strong aura, like a child of the Big Three, we alert Chiron. He tries to keep an eye on them, since they could cause really huge problems."**

"Nice. Feeling the love," Thalia says sarcastically.

"It's true, with your auras and all," Annabeth tells her.

**"And you found me. Chiron said you thought I might be something special."**

**Grover looked as if I'd just led him into a trap. "I didn't... Oh, listen, don't think like that. If you were-you know-you'd never ever be allowed a quest, and I'd never get my license. You're probably a child of Hermes. Or maybe even one of the minor gods, like Nemesis, the god of revenge.**

"That's not very nice. The minor gods and goddesses are just as important as the major ones," Hestia comments in her gentle-mannered way.

"You're right, Lady Hestia," Annabeth agrees. "And I doubt Lady Nemesis would be happy with being called the _god_ of revenge."

"Balance, actually," Athena says. "Not revenge."

**Don't worry, okay?"**

**I got the idea he was reassuring himself more than me. **

**That night after dinner, there was a lot more excitement than usual. **

**At last, it was time for capture the flag.**

"CAPTURE THE FLAG!" Connor, Travis, Leo, Hermes, and Apollo shout.

Connor and Travis appraise Leo. "You could be in our cabin," Connor says.

"No, he's too good to be a son of Hermes," Hephaestus interrupts, his marred face breaking into a smile.

Leo also smiles slightly; it feels good to have your dad stand up for you.

**When the plates were cleared away, the conch horn sounded and we all stood at our tables. **

**Campers yelled and cheered as Annabeth and two of her siblings ran into the pavilion carrying a silk banner. It was about ten feet long, glistening gray, with a painting of a barn owl above an olive tree.**

"Which is better than a saltwater fountain," Athena mumbles.

Poseidon, hearing, turns to glare piercingly at her.

**From the opposite side of the pavilion, Clarisse and her buddies ran in with another banner, of identical size, but gaudy red, painted with a bloody spear and a boar's head. **

"ARES!"

**I turned to Luke and yelled over the noise, "Those are the flags?"**

**"Yeah."**

**"Ares and Athena always lead the teams?"**

**"Not always," he said. "But often."**

**"So, if another cabin captures one, what do you do- repaint the flag?"**

Curious, Frank asks, "Do you?"

"You'll see," Will answers.

**He grinned. "You'll see. First we have to get one."**

**"Whose side are we on?"**

**He gave me a sly look, as if he knew something I didn't. The scar on his face made him look almost evil in the torchlight.**

"Foreshadowing," Annabeth whispers to Thalia, who rolls her eyes. Only Annabeth would make a reference to English class while reading a book about their friend.

**"We've made a temporary alliance with Athena. Tonight, we get the flag from Ares. And you are going to help."**

"If only he knew how much," Annabeth murmurs, her gray eyes dancing.

**The teams were announced. Athena had made an alliance with Apollo and Hermes, the two biggest cabins.**

"If there hadn't been any pact, I swear on the River Styx, your cabin would be the biggest," Hera spits at Zeus, her eyes flashing in anger.

"And I'd have at least a few half-siblings," Jason adds.

"A _few_?" laughs Thalia. "More like _thousands_."

"You're all so kind," Zeus comments dryly.

**Apparently, privileges had been traded-shower times, chore schedules, the best slots for activities-in order to win support. **

**Ares had allied themselves with everybody else: Dionysus, Demeter, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus. From what I'd seen, Dionysus's kids were actually good athletes, but there were only two of them.**

"Pollux and Castor," nods Dionysus, for the first time proudly.

The older Greek demigods wince, remembering what had become of Castor.

**Demeter's kids had the edge with nature skills and outdoor stuff but they weren't very aggressive.**

"We're kindhearted people," Katie responds to that, "and that's better than being aggressive."

Demeter nods happily, agreeing with her daughter's statement. "Very true, Katie! Good for you!"

Persephone winces, unused to watching her mother be… well, a _mother_ to a child other than her.

"And because of that scoundrel" – Demeter glares at Hades – "my most precious child has been turned into a coldhearted soul."

"MOTHER! I am _not_ coldhearted," Persephone argues, getting over her upset self.

Demeter snorts. "Of course you are! Being surrounded by death all the time _must_ have made you coldhearted instead of kindhearted like my proper children are!"

"Are you calling me an improper child of Demeter?" Persephone questions coldly, her green eyes flashing angrily.

"No, Kore dear, of course not!" Demeter is quick to assure her. "It's just… I'm upset that I don't get to be with my child year-round."

"Demeter, I think you've done enough damage," Hades interrupts coolly, his black eyes flashing just as his wife's had. "Leave Persephone alone."

**Aphrodite's sons and daughters I wasn't too worried about. They mostly sat out every activity and checked their reflections in the lake and did their hair and gossiped.**

"Excuse me?" demands Piper.

"Pipes, you're the only child of Aphrodite who actually participates in Capture the Flag," Annabeth points out. "Your half-siblings, especially Drew, _do_ exactly the things Percy describe them of doing."

Piper backs down reluctantly, agreeing. "Fair point."

Aphrodite sniffs. "My children are doing exactly what they should be doing. Beauty is of the utmost importance!"

"Did you just use long words, Aphrodite?" Athena gasps, mock-shocked. "What has the world come to?"

**Hephaestus's kids weren't pretty, and there were only four of them, but they were big and burly from working in the metal shop all day. They might be a problem. That, of course, left Ares's cabin: a dozen of the biggest, ugliest, meanest kids on Long Island, or anywhere else on the planet. **

Seeming to take these words as compliments, Clarisse nods, her head held high. "_We are awesome!_"

**Chiron hammered his hoof on the marble. **

**"Heroes!" he announced. "You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed.**

"Magic items?" repeats Hazel.

"Such as gifts from our godly parent," Thalia explains.

"Like my Yankee cap," Annabeth adds, taking out the hat and putting it on, shimmering into nothingness.

Athena nods proudly. "That's a good gift, if I do say so myself."

"And Maimer," Clarisse puts in, taking out her electric spear.

"Lamer," corrects Travis quietly, so that everyone but Clarisse could hear.

**The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed.**

Reyna flinches slightly, remembering Gwen.

**I will serve as referee and battlefield medic.**

"Aw, nothing against Chiron, but my kids would do a better job!" Apollo cheers.

Will nods enthusiastically.

**Arm yourselves!"**

**He spread his hands, and the tables were suddenly covered with equipment: helmets, bronze swords, spears, oxhide shields coated in metal. **

**"Whoa," I said. "We're really supposed to use these?"**

"Not using them would be like suicide," Connor says as an answer.

**Luke looked at me as if I were crazy. "Unless you want to get skewered by your friends in cabin five.**

"Yup, _friends_," Clarisse agrees sarcastically.

**Here-Chiron thought these would fit. You'll be on border patrol."**

**My shield was the size of an NBA backboard, with a big caduceus in the middle. It weighed about a million pounds. I could have snowboarded on it fine, but I hoped nobody seriously expected me to run fast.**

"Nope, you can just get killed," Ares replies.

"I'd rather not have him as a part of my domain, thanks," Hades responds.

**My helmet, like all the helmets on Athena's side, had a blue horsehair plume on top. Ares and their allies had red plumes. **

**Annabeth yelled, "Blue team, forward!"**

**We cheered and shook our swords and followed her down the path to the south woods. The red team yelled taunts at us as they headed off toward the north. **

**I managed to catch up with Annabeth without tripping over my equipment. "Hey."**

**She kept marching.**

"Ooh, the silent treatment," observes Aphrodite. "_Not_ a good sign. But I can fix that!"

**"So what's the plan?" I asked. "Got any magic items you can loan me?"**

**Her hand drifted toward her pocket, as if she were afraid I'd stolen something. **

"Or we could have," Connor pouts.

"Yeah, why suspect Percy and not us?" Travis demands.

Annabeth rolls her eyes. "You _were_ hosting him in your cabin. Maybe you guys had rubbed off on him. I'm paranoid about my Yankees cap, you know. It's my only connection to my mother."

**"Just watch Clarisse's spear," she said. "You don't want that thing touching you. **

"Damn right he don't," Clarisse nods fervently.

"Watch your language, girl," warns Hera, who just couldn't _stand_ a teenager swearing, especially a demigod.

"And your grammar," a disgruntled Athena adds. _She_ just couldn't stand a teenager using improper grammar.

Clarisse simply rolls her eyes at them

**Otherwise, don't worry. We'll take the banner from Ares.**

"NO YOU WON'T!" Ares protests. He stops. "Though, if it presents me with a terrific war to watch, go ahead!"

"_Dad_!" whines Clarisse.

**Has Luke given you your job?"**

**"Border patrol, whatever that means."**

**"It's easy. Stand by the creek, keep the reds away. Leave the rest to me. Athena always has a plan."**

Athena nods approvingly. "That I do, daughter."

Despite her respect for her mother, Annabeth has to resist the urge to roll her eyes. _She_ had been the one to draw out the plan and then successfully carry it out, not her _mother_.

**She pushed ahead, leaving me in the dust. **

**"Okay," I mumbled. "Glad you wanted me on your team."**

"Aw, poor dear. He's _upset_," coos Aphrodite. "I'm sure I'll come to the rescue soon!"

**It was a warm, sticky night. The woods were dark, with fireflies popping in and out of view. Annabeth stationed me next to a little creek that gurgled over some rocks, then she and the rest of the team scattered into the trees.**

"You left him _alone_ by the borderline on his _first_ game?" Poseidon accusingly quizzes Annabeth, his sea green eyes flashing.

Annabeth flinches, but not from his words. His eyes remind her so much of Percy, it hurt. "Like I said before, Lord Poseidon, Athena _always_ has a plan."

"Oh yes. Quite reassuring. I'll leave my son's _life_ in the hands of Owl-Head."

**Standing there alone, with my big blue-feathered helmet and my huge shield, I felt like an idiot. The bronze sword, like all the swords I'd tried so far, seemed balanced wrong.**

"That could be fatal," sighs Poseidon. He looks at the older Greek demigods. "Why didn't Luke tell Chiron or something?"

The demigods avoid eye contact, not willing to say what's on their mind: if Luke _had_ fixed Percy up perfectly, he'd have less of a chance at overtaking Camp Half-Blood and succeeding Kronos.

Poseidon eyes them warily, but drops the subject.

**The leather grip pulled on my hand like a bowling ball. **

**There was no way anybody would actually attack me, would they? I mean, Olympus had to have liability issues, right?**

"Apparently not," mutters Clarisse.

**Far away, the conch horn blew.**

"Interesting that they keep mentioning the _conch_ horn. Kind of like foreshadowing," Athena remarks. "Foreshadowing to show that Kelp-for-Brains is actually Sea Spawn's father."

"Yes, Athena dear, usually a spawn's father _is_ his or her father," Poseidon explains patiently.

Athena looks at him. "What?"

Poseidon smirks. "Exactly."

**I heard whoops and yells in the woods, the clanking of metal, kids fighting. A blue-plumed ally from Apollo raced past me like a deer, leaped through the creek, and disappeared into enemy territory. **

"WOO! GO MY UNNAMED KID!" cheers Apollo.

**Great, I thought. I'll miss all the fun, as usual. **

Annabeth snorts. "That's for sure."

Thalia and Nico, who hadn't heard _exactly_ what happened on Percy's first Capture the Flag game, lean forward in anticipation.

**Then I heard a sound that sent a chill up my spine, a low canine growl, somewhere close by. **

Hades sits up straighter, suddenly alert.

**I raised my shield instinctively; I had the feeling something was stalking me. **

**Then the growling stopped. I felt the presence retreating. **

**On the other side of the creek, the underbrush exploded. Five Ares warriors came yelling and screaming out of the dark. **

"GO MY KIDS!" Ares war-cries.

**"Cream the punk!" Clarisse screamed. **

"YES! CREAM THE PUNK!" her father shouts. "WAR!"

Poseidon rolls his eyes, hiding his worry for his son's safety.

Annabeth hides a smile. If this Capture the Flag game was nerve racking for the Sea God, the rest of the series would be, to put it mildly, heart-attack-worthy… if gods could suffer from heart attacks.

**Her ugly pig eyes glared through the slits of her helmet.**

Clarisse growls. "_Ugly_? _Pig_?"

**She brandished a five-foot-long spear, its barbed metal tip flickering with red light.**

Ares nods proudly, remembering his gift to his daughter.

**Her siblings had only the standard-issue bronze swords-not that that made me feel any better. **

**They charged across the stream. There was no help in sight. I could run. Or I could defend myself against half the Ares cabin.**

"Only twelve demigod children, Ares? Wow, I'm impressed. Seems like you've been restraining yourself lately," Hera comments sarcastically, looking at her son.

Ares shrugs her off, eager to hear of his daughter's defeat of the stupid punk.

**I managed to sidestep the first kid's swing, but these guys were not as stupid the Minotaur.**

"But a close call," Connor adds, earning himself a purple eye from Clarisse. Whimpering, he covers his eyes and squeaks, "Sorry!"

Clarisse doesn't waste her voice, and instead glares at him heatedly.

**They surrounded me, and Clarisse thrust at me with her spear. My shield deflected the point, but I felt a painful tingling all over my body. My hair stood on end. My shield arm went numb, and the air burned. **

"Electric?" Zeus asks, surprised.

**Electricity. Her stupid spear was electric.**

"_Stupid_?" repeat Ares and Clarisse as one, their faces identical masks of offense.

**I fell back. **

"CREAM THE PUNK!" Ares yells.

**Another Ares guy slammed me in the chest with the butt of his sword and I hit the dirt. **

"GO KID!" Ares cheers.

**They could've kicked me into jelly, but they were too busy laughing. **

**"Give him a haircut," Clarisse said. "Grab his hair."**

"La Rue, you better not dare," snarls Poseidon, finally having enough of his silence.

**I managed to get to my feet. I raised my sword, but Clarisse slammed it aside with her spear as sparks flew. Now both my arms felt numb. **

Poseidon growls menacingly.

**"Oh, wow," Clarisse said. "I'm scared of this guy. Really scared."**

"Oh, you should be," murmurs Annabeth to herself.

**"The flag is that way," I told her. I wanted to sound angry, but I was afraid it didn't come out that way. **

"He gave away the flag's location?" Athena demands in outrage. "After my children spent so long laboring over the plans?"

"Actually, Mother, it was quite wise of him. We were already close to their flag," Annabeth argues.

Athena looks at her in surprise. "You're siding with sea spawn?"

Annabeth decides not to reply.

**"Yeah," one of her siblings said. "But see, we don't care about the flag. We care about a guy who made our cabin look stupid."**

"You do that without his help," Poseidon replies, earning laughs from everyone except Clarisse and Ares, especially from Hazel, who had read a little ahead.

Ares glares at his uncle.

**"You do that without my help," I told them.**

Poseidon grins sheepishly.

**It probably wasn't the smartest thing to say. **

"You think?" Thalia asks sarcastically.

**Two of them came at me. I backed up toward the creek, tried to raise my shield, but Clarisse was too fast. Her spear stuck me straight in the ribs. If I hadn't been wearing an armored breastplate, I would've been shish-ke-babbed.**

"Too bad he wasn't," mutters Jason, and Reyna heard.

"Jason! It would not be good if he was," Reyna replies. "And you should not wish that on anyone. Even if we are Romans and more fierce and competitive and war-like than Greeks, we don't want to be bad people."

"Save the lecture, Reyna," snaps Jason. _So now _she's_ siding with him too? Great, just great._

Reyna looks at him in amazement, but Hazel interrupts, reading on.

**As it was, the electric point just about shocked my teeth out of my mouth. One of her cabinmates slashed his sword across my arm, leaving a good-size cut. **

**Seeing my own blood made me dizzy-warm and cold at the same time.**

"Wimp," Ares says loudly.

"Oh, and would you like to see some of your own ichor, Ares?" Poseidon asks him dangerously, his hand resting casually on his trident.

**"No maiming," I managed to say. **

**"Oops," the guy said. "Guess I lost my dessert privilege." **

Hazel stops reading, her eyes filled with concern. "They should really make up more severe punishment for that. I'm all for training because we _do_ need it out there, but maiming someone _purposely_ and then just losing their dessert?" She shakes her head.

**He pushed me into the creek and I landed with a splash. They all laughed. I figured as soon as they were through being amused, I would die.**

Poseidon begins to chuckle. "Oh, no you won't."

Ares leans back in his throne, his face surly.

**But then something happened. The water seemed to wake up my senses, as if I'd just had a bag of my mom's double-espresso jelly beans. **

"Mm… jelly beans…" drools Apollo. "And double-espresso… I should get some of those for my early mornings… mm…"

"As long as it gets you up earlier so I can go to bed, yeah, go for it," mutters Artemis.

**Clarisse and her cabinmates came into the creek to get me, but I stood to meet them. I knew what to do. I swung the flat of my sword against the first guy's head and knocked his helmet clean off. I hit him so hard I could see his eyes vibrating as he crumpled into the water. **

"His eyes were vibrating?" gasps Piper. She is coming to understand the extent of Percy's powers.

Leo shakes his head in awe. "That is amazing. The water gives him power!"

Clarisse now has an expression mirroring that of her father's.

**Ugly Number Two and Ugly Number Three came at me.**

Nico chuckles. "Fitting names."

**I slammed one in the face with my shield and used my sword to shear off the other guy's horsehair plume. Both of them backed up quick. Ugly Number Four didn't look really anxious to attack, but Clarisse kept coming, the point of her spear crackling with energy.**

"Stupid," murmurs Annabeth, rolling her eyes. Only Clarisse would keep advancing after she watched her siblings get creamed.

**As soon as she thrust, I caught the shaft between the edge of my shield and my sword, and I snapped it like a twig. **

"YOU IDIOT! YOU CORPSE-BREATH WORM!" screams Ares. "YOU SNAPPED MY DAUGHTER'S SPEAR!"

"Oh no, Ares," Thalia says, grinning, to her half-brother, "corpse-breath worm is Nico's nickname!"

**"Ah!" she screamed. "You idiot! You corpse-breath worm!"**

"Like father, like daughter," Artemis says.

**She probably would've said worse, but I smacked her between the eyes with my sword-butt and sent her stumbling backward out of the creek. **

**Then I heard yelling, elated screams, and I saw Luke racing toward the boundary line with the red team's banner lifted high. He was flanked by a couple of Hermes guys covering his retreat, and a few Apollos behind them, fighting off the Hephaestus kids.**

"They better not have gotten hurt," murmurs Hephaestus.

**The Ares folks got up, and Clarisse muttered a dazed curse. **

**"A trick!" she shouted. "It was a trick."**

Annabeth smiles in satisfaction. "Athena always has a plan."

**They staggered after Luke, but it was too late. Everybody converged on the creek as Luke ran across into friendly territory. Our side exploded into cheers. The red banner shimmered and turned to silver. The boar and spear were replaced with a huge caduceus, the symbol of cabin eleven.**

"HERMES!" cheers Connor, Travis, and Hermes loudly.

**Everybody on the blue team picked up Luke and started carrying him around on their shoulders. Chiron cantered out from the woods and blew the conch horn. **

**The game was over. We'd won. **

**I was about to join the celebration when Annabeth's voice, right next to me in the creek, said, "Not bad, hero."**

"Not bad? That was bloody amazing!" Leo cries, his eyes wide.

**I looked, but she wasn't there. **

"**Where the heck did you learn to fight like that?" she asked. The air shimmered, and she materialized, holding a Yankees baseball cap as if she'd just taken it off her head. **

**I felt myself getting angry. I wasn't even fazed by the fact that she'd just been invisible. "You set me up," I said. "You put me here because you knew Clarisse would come after me, while you sent Luke around the flank. You had it all figured out." **

**Annabeth shrugged. "I told you. Athena always, always has a plan."**

"Yeah, a plan to get my son pulverized," mutters Poseidon, glaring at his rival and her daughter.

Annabeth shrugs. "We won, didn't we, Lord Poseidon?"

"I suppose so…" Poseidon allows grudgingly.

"You've got to admit… my daughter devises amazing plans," Athena tells him smugly. "Your son couldn't draw up a plan for his life."

**"A plan to get me pulverized."**

"Lord Poseidon, you think _a lot_ like Percy," Nico observes. "Poor you."

Poseidon laughs. "Or poor Percy."

**"I came as fast as I could. I was about to jump in, but ..." She shrugged. "You didn't need help."**

"Yeah, as fast as she could," Poseidon repeats in a sarcastic voice.

**Then she noticed my wounded arm. "How did you do that?"**

**"Sword cut," I said. "What do you think?"**

**"No. It was a sword cut. Look at it."**

**The blood was gone. Where the huge cut had been, there was a long white scratch, and even that was fading. As I watched, it turned into a small scar, and disappeared. **

"Unfair! He can heal himself with water," whines Thalia. "Lord Poseidon, why couldn't _I_ have been your child, not Fish Breath?"

Poseidon laughs.

Zeus growls. "I passed on greater powers than he ever could, daughter."

"I can't heal myself with air, can I?" counters Thalia. When her father remains silent, she says triumphantly, "My point is proven."

**"I-I don't get it," I said. **

**Annabeth was thinking hard. I could almost see the gears turning. She looked down at my feet, then at Clarisse's broken spear, and said, "Step out of the water, Percy."**

"**What-"**

"**Just do it."**

"Ooh, are you going to _kiss him_?" squeals Aphrodite.

Annabeth rolls her eyes. "_No_, Lady Aphrodite, I am _not_."

"Of course she isn't!" adds Athena.

**I came out of the creek and immediately felt bone tired. My arms started to go numb again. My adrenaline rush left me. I almost fell over, but Annabeth steadied me. **

"Are you sure?" Aphrodite continues teasingly, her eyes flashing with amusement.

**"Oh, Styx," she cursed. "This is not good. I didn't want ...**

"Ooh, did you say that because anyone else wouldn't have destroyed your _perfect_ match?" shrieks Aphrodite.

"_No_, Lady Aphrodite!"

**I assumed it would be Zeus..."**

"Why does everyone automatically assume it was me?" Zeus demands.

"Because one, you're the most likely to break an oath," Hera responds almost instantly. "And two, because you have countless more affairs than either Poseidon or Hades."

"But you know, Percy's too awesome to be a kid of Zeus," Poseidon butts in.

**Before I could ask what she meant, I heard that canine growl again, but much closer than before. A howl ripped through the forest. **

Hades gulps. If it was what he thinks it is…

**The campers' cheering died instantly. Chiron shouted something in Ancient Greek, which I would realize, only later, I had understood perfectly: "Stand ready! My bow!"**

**Annabeth drew her sword. **

"I use a knife," Annabeth says, confused.

"Percy could have just been baffled with everything that was happening," Rachel tells her. "Too baffled to think straight and tell the difference between a dagger and sword."

**There on the rocks just above us was a black hound the size of a rhino, with lava-red eyes and fangs like daggers. **

Poseidon grips his armrests. "Hellhound," he breathes, his eyes now fixed steadily on his older brother.

**It was looking straight at me. **

"HADES!" Poseidon explodes, about to go after his brother with his glowing trident.

Hades shrinks back, and tries to use the same excuse as before: "I haven't done it yet?"

"I don't give a damn if you've done it or not! The fact is that you're sure as hell _going to_ do it!" Poseidon roars, gripping his trident.

Annabeth stands quickly, her voice rising to meet the Sea God's volume. "Lord Poseidon, please. It wasn't Lord Hades who unleashed the hellhound. It was… someone else. If it isn't disclosed in the book, I swear upon the River Styx that I will inform you of the person who _did_ at the end."

Poseidon looks at her seriously, but sits down. The River Styx was the most dangerous to oath upon, especially for demigods and mortals.

**Nobody moved except Annabeth, who yelled, "Percy, run!"**

"Aw, how sweet, she's worried!" coos Aphrodite.

**She tried to step in front of me, but the hound was too fast. It leaped over her-an enormous shadow with teeth-and just as it hit me, as I stumbled backward and felt its razor-sharp claws ripping through my armor,**

Poseidon gulps, his knuckles going white from grasping the armrests so tightly.

**there was a cascade of thwacking sounds, like forty pieces of paper being ripped one after the other. From the hounds neck sprouted a cluster of arrows. The monster fell dead at my feet.**

The God of the Seas exhales, relaxing. "Thank you, Chiron," he thinks to himself.

**By some miracle, I was still alive. I didn't want to look underneath the ruins of my shredded armor. My chest felt warm and wet, and I knew I was badly cut. Another second, and the monster would've turned me into a hundred pounds of delicatessen meat. **

"Get in the water, get in the water," murmurs Poseidon.

**Chiron trotted up next to us, a bow in his hand, his face grim. **

**"**_**Di immortales**_**!" Annabeth said. "That's a hellhound from the Fields of Punishment. They don't ... They're not supposed to..."**

**"Someone summoned it," Chiron said. "Someone inside the camp."**

"You see, Lord Poseidon? I highly doubt that Lord Hades would step foot inside Camp Half-Blood, when he has work to do in the Underworld," Annabeth says.

Poseidon stays silent.

Remembering what she said next, Clarisse fixes her face into her usual scowl.

**Luke came over, the banner in his hand forgotten, his moment of glory gone.**

Hermes looks disappointed. "My son should have had some more time to enjoy the victory, his success and bask in the glory. Not have all the attention shift to the new kid right away."

**Clarisse yelled, "It's all Percy's fault! Percy summoned it!"**

Hades shakes his head at the present Clarisse. "Only a child of mine or someone connected to the Underworld could have summoned it."

**"Be quiet, child," Chiron told her. **

**We watched the body of the hellhound melt into shadow, soaking into the ground until it disappeared. **

**"You're wounded," Annabeth told me. "Quick, Percy, get in the water."**

**"I'm okay."**

"You are not, Perseus Jackson," Poseidon says sharply. "Listen to Annabeth and _get into the creek_."

Demeter smiles at her brother. "You're such a good father, Poseidon. Why can't you be like that?" she asks the other gods.

Katie looks down. Her mother wasn't the epitome of 'motherly' either.

**"No, you're not," she said. "Chiron, watch this."**

**I was too tired to argue. I stepped back into the creek, the whole camp gathering around me. **

**Instantly, I felt better. I could feel the cuts on my chest closing up. Some of the campers gasped. **

"Great," Poseidon says. "More unwanted attention."

"And now Percy will apologize," Nico says dramatically.

**"Look, I-I don't know why," I said, trying to apologize. "I'm sorry..."**

"See?" Nico asks smugly.

**But they weren't watching my wounds heal. They were staring at something above my head. **

Poseidon begins to smile. "I'm claiming him…"

**"Percy," Annabeth said, pointing. "Um..."**

**By the time I looked up, the sign was already fading, but I could still make out the hologram of green light, spinning and gleaming. A three-tipped spear: a trident. **

Piper looks disgruntled. "Better than my mother's way of claiming me."

Aphrodite pouts. "What's wrong with a good makeover once in a while?"

"Mother, I couldn't get the damn thing off me!" replies Piper loudly.

"Watch your language," warns Aphrodite, uncharacteristically stern.

Piper snorts. "You're worried about my language and not worried by suggesting to me to wear skin-baring clothes. You've never actually, but I'll bet you've thought of it."

**"Your father," Annabeth murmured. "This is really not good."**

"Why not?"

"Poseidon broke the oath," Annabeth lies vaguely.

**"It is determined," Chiron announced. **

**All around me, campers started kneeling, even the Ares cabin, though they didn't look happy about it. **

Clarisse rolls her eyes. "Well, duh we weren't."

**"My father?" I asked, completely bewildered. **

**"Poseidon," said Chiron. "Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God."**

"So dramatic," Thalia says, rolling her eyes.

Poseidon chuckles. "I like it. It makes him, and me, sound all-powerful."

"Er… Lord? You _are_ an all-powerful being," Katie says.

"Is that the end?" Hera questions Hazel, who nods and sets the book aside. "Very well. Come, we will show you to your bedrooms. Actually… I'm quite tired. Those of you who don't have demigod children visiting in either your Greek or Roman forms, you may retire. Is that only Artemis and Persephone?"

x.o.x.o.x.

Zeus and the other gods plus the demigods stand at the top of a large, door-lined hallway. He points down it. "On the right are the goddesses, on the left are the gods. They should be in the same order as our thrones. Thalia…" He looks at his daughter. "You can choose to sleep in my guest bedroom with Jason or you may sleep in Artemis's guest room."

Artemis, who had come along despite her lack of children, nods at her future lieutenant. "You are welcome to my room, even if you aren't a Hunter in our time yet."

Thalia smiles at the goddess. "I think I will, thank you, my Lady."

"Good night," bids Poseidon as the gods begin to disperse. "And sleep well." He smiles at them softly, and leaves behind the rest of his relatives.

x.o.x.o.x.

A/N: Done! Next chapter will be a filler chapter of the night! I hope you enjoyed it, and watch out for the next one! Love you all!


	9. Night I

A/N: And this is the filler chapter, filling you in on the night on Olympus! And Percy will be in sometime, I promise! But I won't say when! Enjoy!

x.o.x.o.x.

Jason Grace enters the room Zeus had decorated himself, for occasions like these. The walls were painted in a mural of a stormy sky, complete with black storm clouds, pounding rain, flashes of lightning, and even the occasional boom of thunder could be heard. The bed is large and set in the middle of the wall opposite the door, and is covered in blue sheets, the color of a perfect sky. A fifty-inch plasma TV is hung on the wall opposite the bed and above a dark mahogany dresser.

x.o.x.o.x.

Poseidon's guest room stays empty because Percy isn't here. The walls are covered in rippling waves of the ocean and seashells and conch horns. You could hear the slapping of waves against the shore. A bed the same size as in Zeus's guest bedroom sits in the same place, but is covered in green sheets. A sixty-inch plasma TV hangs over the lighter mahogany dresser.

x.o.x.o.x.

Nico di Angelo and Hazel Levesque step into the Hades guest room. Apparently Zeus had allowed their father to have a guest room here, despite the fact that Hades wasn't allowed on Olympus on occasions other than the winter solstice. The walls are completely and utterly black. The bed is large and set in the middle of the wall, covered in black sheets. A sixty-inch plasma hangs above the (what else?) black dresser. Nico smiles. Exactly his style. Hazel sighs. She didn't dislike the color black, in fact she is drawn to it, but an entire black room?

x.o.x.o.x.

Leo Valdez enters the guest room of Hephaestus. The walls are gray and have moving pictures of mechanisms on it. The bed is scattered with different projects, most likely left there by former users of the room. The usual plasma is hanging above the light brown dresser, but Leo doesn't pay attention. On the dresser itself are lines and lines of iPhones, iPods, other types of phones, and even a couple of laptops. He grabs a laptop and sits gingerly on the bed, beginning to fiddle with it before he went to sleep.

x.o.x.o.x.

Clarisse La Rue and Frank Zhang enter the room of Ares. Frank scowls at the thought of living with Clarisse until they finished the books. The walls are the same ugly red color (and paintjob) of the Ares cabin at Camp Half-Blood. Scattered around are weapons like swords and spears and shields. The plasma hung abandoned on its last hinges above a marred and nearly destroyed dresser. Clarisse shrugs happily and tosses her stuff on the only bed.

"You can have the floor," she says to Frank before jumping on the bed and beginning to pummel a pillow.

Frank rolls his eyes and drops his stuff on the ground. "Kind of you," he mutters. He averts his eyes from his Greek half-sister pummeling the pillow like there is no tomorrow.

x.o.x.o.x.

Will Solace enters the guest room of Apollo and nearly staggers to the ground. The walls are a blinding gold that create spots in his vision. The bed is also covered in pure gold sheets. Even the dresser and the border of the (seventy-inch) plasma were gold. Rolling his eyes at his father's abnormality, Will sets his stuff on the bed and gapes as the backpack glows, and then turns to gold. Apparently everything in this room had to be gold.

Moments later, Octavian appears, looking disgruntled. "I have to sleep in here," he spits. "With you stupid _graceus_."

"Go to Tartarus," mutters Will.

x.o.x.o.x.

Travis and Connor Stoll enter the Hermes room… no, heaven. Video games are stacked everywhere, and there is an eighty-two inch plasma TV hanging above the large dresser along with two full beds.

"Look!" yells Connor, and runs over to a sliding door. He slides it open. "Cameras! Computers! Laptops! iPods! iPhones! Macs! More video games!"

And so they ensued in video game heaven.

x.o.x.o.x.

Dionysus's guest room is empty like Poseidon's. The walls have climbing grape vines all over it. The bed is covered in sheets with wine glasses all over it. The plasma is smaller than Hermes's.

x.o.x.o.x.

Hera's guest room is, of course, empty. Peacocks line the walls in painting, as well as the bedspread. Otherwise, everything is white. And no plasma TV, since she disapproves of television… except for Hephaestus TV, of course. She likes seeing demigods being made fools of.

x.o.x.o.x.

Katie Gardner enters the Demeter guest room. Tomatoes are drawn on the walls. On the sheets are drawings of different boxes of cereal. Inwardly rolling her eyes, Katie switches her glance to the slightly small plasma TV and the white-wheat-drawing-dotted dresser.

x.o.x.o.x.

Piper McLean enters the Aphrodite guest room and stifles a groan. The walls are painted a hot pink, with matching sheets on the bed. A vanity stands next to the dresser, topped with makeup and perfume that her half-sisters would have died to get their hands on. A huge wardrobe stands off to the side, and Piper doesn't doubt that inside were white, strapless dresses, fancy tops, skirts and pants that she would not have worn for her life, as well as every designer shoe imaginable.

x.o.x.o.x.

Annabeth Chase enters the Athena guest room and grins. There are bookcases lining the walls wherever the dresser and bed aren't. There isn't a plasma TV, but Annabeth is fine with that. The bed has sheets dotted with owls.

x.o.x.o.x.

Thalia Grace steps into the Artemis guest room and smiles. The walls are decorated with amazingly precise drawings and paintings of wild animals, as well as a young girl that she recognizes immediately: Artemis. The drawing of Artemis is off to one corner, and she has her bow up and ready. The sheets are silver and seem to glow as moonlight shines through the open window.

x.o.x.o.x.

Reyna stands alone in the middle of the ornate hallway after the other demigods had entered rooms almost instinctively. But her mother is Bellona, who did _not_ have a guest room or throne on Olympus.

"Bellona bears resemblance to Minerva," muses Reyna. "And I do like the Annabeth girl, the daughter of Minerva's Greek aspect. I might go and request room there."

So she walks down the hall and knocks gently on the door marked _Athena_. The blonde, grey-eyed girl opens the door almost immediately. Her face falls when she sees the Roman praetor standing there.

"Reyna!" Annabeth exclaims, surprised. "Sorry if you noticed my face fall… I was just thinking of Percy."

The Roman smiles gently. "No problem, Annabeth. I was wondering if I could room with you during our time here on Olympus."

Annabeth tilts her head curiously. "Who is your godly parent, Reyna? Just out of curiosity."

Reyna smiles proudly. "Bellona is my mother."

The daughter of Athena grins. "Bellona? The Roman goddess of war? Her Greek counterpart is Enyo, isn't it?"

Reyna nods.

"I guess Athena and Enyo, or Bellona, are connected. Athena is the Goddess of Battle Strategy and Enyo is the Goddess of War itself. A companion to Ares? Hmm… yes, I think it would be fitting for you to stay here. Welcome to the guest room of Athena," replies Annabeth, waving her hand behind her with a warm smile.

x.o.x.o.x.

Three hours later, as the clock strikes midnight, almost everyone on Olympus is silent and asleep.

But in the guest wing of the palace, one demigod climbs out of bed and begins to try to find a way to the kitchens with a grumbling stomach. Finally, after a half hour of wandering in the near dark, the demigod arrives in the kitchens and is surprised to find the lights already on.

Another demigod is in the kitchen and turns to face the first demigod. "Jason!" Piper McLean cries, and blushes fiercely, dropping the apple in her hand with a loud thud.

Jason Grace smiles at his girlfriend and goes over to hug her. "Great minds think alike, huh, Pipes? We were both hungry at the same time."

Piper shakes her head, giggling softly. "That's our stomachs, Jason, not our minds."

"Whatever you say, beauty queen," Jason responds and reaches over to the gigantic fruit bowl in the middle of the kitchen table. He grabs a banana and begins to peel it.

The daughter of Aphrodite watches him eat for a moment, before taking a mug down from a cabinet and saying clearly to it, "Orange juice." The mug fills with the orange liquid.

Once the girl had gulped some down, she turns to her boyfriend. "Is something wrong, Jason? I've been watching you while we've been reading, and you seem… off."

Jason shrugs. "I guess it _is_ the book."

Piper sets down her mug and looks at him in confusion. "What's wrong?"

"It's just… this Percy guy gets so much attention. Didn't _I_ do much more than he did?"

His companion looks at him silently for a moment. "I wouldn't know. In case you forgot, Annabeth doesn't like to talk about him. But from the books, he seems pretty funny and brave."

Jason groans. "So _you're_ on his side too?"

"I'm not taking sides," Piper replies, a little sharply. "I'm just saying that you shouldn't judge Percy Jackson until you meet him and get to know him."

"I don't want to get to know him," Jason replies, a bit childishly. "He's not worth knowing."

Piper uncharacteristically glares at him. "I thought you were a good person, Jason. The Jason I know would realize that he's being absolutely childish and would agree with me. The Jason I'm talking to is ridiculously jealous."

"Jealous?" Jason snorts. "Dream on, Pipes. I'm not jealous of him. I defeated a _Titan_! Krios, remember?"

"Yeah, we've heard." Piper sighs wearily and pushes her orange juice away. "I don't want to fight with you, Jason, but I, for one, cannot wait to meet Percy. He sounds fascinating. I'm going back to bed." She smiles slightly at her boyfriend. "I hope you can get over your jealousy, Jason. Goodnight." Kissing him quickly, she departs from the kitchen.

x.o.x.o.x.

Jason is still sitting alone in the kitchen half an hour later, when footsteps alert him to another arrival. He warily sits straighter, abandoning his steady gaze at the empty tabletop, and reaches for his weapon. But when the god comes into the light of the kitchen, he drops it and averts his eyes.

"Hello Jason," Zeus greets, flickering to his Roman form and staying there for the time being.

The demigod stays glaring at the tabletop. "Father," he replies stiffly.

"What are you doing up at this time of night?" Jupiter asks, in an uncharacteristic show of fatherly action.

Jason looks at him in surprise, but mumbles in response, "Couldn't sleep."

"I heard the daughter of Aphrodite in here," Jupiter presses, but Jason wouldn't answer. He flickers back to his Greek form. "I don't want to be a hypocrite by telling my family to stay Greek and break the rule myself," he explains.

"Zeus? Not a hypocrite? That's a surprise," says a sarcastic female voice from the doorway.

The now-Greek god whirls around and shuffles his feet when he sees his wife standing there, looking positively intimidating. "Why are you awake?" Hera demands.

Zeus rolls his eyes. "Is being awake and walking a crime, Hera? I couldn't sleep so I got up."

"Probably debating whether or not to go visit someone," Hera snaps, her implication clear. Her eyes snap to Jason. "You."

Jason looks at her. Even in her Greek form, he isn't used to Hera/Juno hating him. "Lady Hera," he replies, the Greek name still strange on his tongue.

Hera sniffs disapprovingly, flickering briefly to her Roman form and back. "I don't approve of you, half-blood. The only demigod I have ever approved of was the original Jason."

"I'd like to inform you, Lady that in the future, you don't disapprove of me" Jason says sharply.

"Don't speak to me in that tone," snaps Hera. "I don't approve of any illegitimate children of my husband." She glares at Zeus.

"I assure you that I wasn't going to descend from Olympus and go to a mortal woman, Hera," Zeus replies calmly.

Hera still glares. "Since when have I trusted you?" She turns on her heel and throws over her shoulder, "If you're not in bed by one-thirty, I'll have your hide."

Once she is out of earshot, Zeus rolls his eyes. "Overprotective. It's not as if I'd die anyway."

Jason stays silent, unused to his father talking to him, or even being in his presence.

"I know I wasn't a good father, Jason. But you must understand that I am a god, the _king_ of the gods, and I have a lot of-"

"Responsibilities, I know," Jason cuts the Greek form of his father off. "But it seems Lord Neptune's responsibilities haven't gotten in the way of loving and caring for his son."

Zeus winces. "Poseidon, actually, Jason. As he is currently in his Greek form."

"I don't give a damn about what form he's in. All I care about is that he put his responsibilities aside for time enough to care about that… that _brat_ Percy Jackson," spits Jason.

"I should have killed him," Zeus agrees. "Now go to bed, Jason, won't you? I am." And he disappears from the spot.

Jason growls angrily, throws away the banana peel, walks out of the kitchen, and slams directly into someone.

"Oof- Annabeth?" Jason asks.

The hallway floods with light as the daughter of Athena flicks a light switch. Her grey eyes are boring heatedly into Jason, flared with anger. "Don't 'Annabeth?' me! I heard exactly what you and 'Lord'" – she spits the title out – "Zeus were talking about. Percy! And nothing good about him, either! He wants to kill him?"

Jason has trouble keeping up with her, but says, "He deserves to be. What did he ever do to help Olympus, whether in its Roman or Greek form?"

Annabeth glares even more forcefully at the son of Jupiter. "Percy Jackson has done more than you ever will, Jason Grace. He has earned the full respect of _every_ Camp Half-Blood camper, _including_ Clarisse and the rest of the Ares cabin, albeit grudgingly. And I have absolutely no doubt that he's earned _almost_ every Camp Jupiter campers' respect!"

"I agree with that," says a familiar voice from behind Annabeth.

Jason peers over the angry girl's shoulder and sees his former co-praetor. "Reyna! How kind of you to come help me! You see, Annabeth here was just-"

The daughter of Bellona cuts him off smoothly. "I heard, Jason. She's defending her boyfriend. I admit I didn't think much of the praetor in the first place, but I got to know him. He's a brave warrior, and would- no, _is_ making a brilliant legionnaire _and_ praetor. I love you, Jason, as a brother and friend, but you shouldn't go around judging people from what you _want_ to be." She pauses, looking intently at her former co-praetor. "It seems to me you're jealous."

Annabeth slaps her forehead. "Why didn't I see it earlier? What you have, my dear Jason Grace, is a serious case of jealousy."

"Funny, that's what Piper said too," Jason snaps. "And I am _not_ jealous in any way. I just think that Jackson is way overrated."

Reyna's already-thin lips become thinner at the mention of Piper. "I don't know what he did in his life as a Greek demigod, Jason, and that's why we're here to read these books. But I have seen what he looks like on the battlefield. And he's no faint-hearted warrior. So at least hold off on your jealousy until you meet him."

"I thought you were a better person, Jason," Annabeth says softly. "I thought that you would make a great Camp Half-Blood camper. But at Camp Half-Blood we are family. Even the Ares campers. We believe in each other. And Percy happens to be a part of our family, absent or present. So please try to accept him."

Jason rolls his eyes in response. "This is useless. I'm going back to bed," he snaps at the girls. "Nice try." He stomps off.

Annabeth sighs, looking after him. "He's jealous," she states simply, and begins to walk toward the guest wing.

Reyna nods quietly. "He is. At Camp Jupiter, he's used to being the hero, the center of attention. But what happened at the Greek camp?"

Continuing to walk, Annabeth looks thoughtful. "Everyone kept talking about Percy. Well, not too much, because I get kind of upset over it. But I think more about Seaweed Brain and less about Jason, which he probably isn't used to."

"No, he isn't," Reyna agrees. "At Camp Jupiter, he's the center of attention, as I said before."

The two demigods reach the Athena guest room and slip in, silent for the rest of the night.

x.o.x.o.x.

Yet another demigod stumbles blindly into the dark kitchen. The demigod flicks on the lights and sighs, walking over to a chair and pulling down a mug.

"Thalia?"

Thalia jerks violently, nearly falling out of her seat and shattering the mug. "Nico!" she cries, startled. "Katie," she adds, seeing the daughter of Demeter lingering behind her cousin.

"Hi, Thalia," Katie says quietly and shyly. "I'm sorry for startling you."

Thalia waves it off, smiling. "It's no problem. I guess I should have expected people to be wandering around, especially us demigods. We're not used to sleeping on Olympus, are we?"

"Cut the small talk, Pinecone Face," mutters Nico sleepily. "Do they have coffee?"

Rolling her eyes, his cousin points upward to the circular rack of matching mugs. "Take one and then just say what you want to it."

Nico grabs one and orders, "Black coffee." The mug fills with the dark stuff and he begins to gulp it down while Katie and Thalia look at him in amazement.

"Caffeine stunts growth," Katie comments casually, watching the son of Hades drink the coffee rapidly.

"He _is_ over seventy years old," Thalia points out, before saying to her own mug, "Hot chocolate with whipped cream and chocolate shavings."

Katie also takes a mug and looks at it. "Will it give me food?" she wonders.

The daughter of Zeus shrugs. "Try it."

"Strawberry yogurt," tries Katie, looking down at the mug. Almost immediately, the cup fills with the thick pink liquid.

"Strawberry yogurt?" shrieks a high-pitched voice.

Nico groans audibly, setting down his half-empty (or half-full?) mug loudly. "Demeter," he growls. He isn't fond of his aunt/step-grandmother… obviously.

"Mother," Katie says kindly, though her eyes look troubled. "What exactly is wrong with yogurt?"

"It is not CEREAL!" squeals Demeter, sounding like Aphrodite talking about couples and makeup and hairdos.

"You got up out of bed just to scold me about not eating cereal at _one o'clock in the morning_?" exclaims Katie incredulously.

"I didn't have time to when you were younger. At least put some granola!" Demeter chastises.

"Fine," grumbles Katie, and the yogurt becomes dotted with granola. "Now can you leave us alone?"

Demeter smiles happily and departs.

"Crazy, that one," mutters Katie, grabbing a spoon and beginning to eat.

"She is," mumbles Nico, rolling his eyes. "Absolutely obsessed with cereal and wheat. I have no clue what Zeus ever saw in her to create Persephone… we'd all be better off without her."

Thalia sips more of her hot chocolate. "Except Hades," she murmurs. "I may be a Hunter, but I'm not immune to love. I see the way Hades looks at Persephone, and he loves her. I'm sure of it."

Nico's eyes fill with fire. "But my father loved my mother. I'm sure of it, just as sure as you are about him loving Persephone."

"But can you be sure, Death Breath?" challenges Thalia, setting down her own warm mug. "You have no memories of your mother or the rest of your life before the Lotus Hotel and Casino."

Her cousin flinches, hurt taking over his face. "I didn't spend years of my life as a pine tree," he snaps back.

Katie watches the exchange silently, dipping her spoon into her yogurt occasionally. They technically were her cousins too, but she didn't have the bond that the three had with anyone except her own half-siblings.

"I'm done here," snaps Thalia, resisting the urge to drop her mug and shatter it to release her anger. "Goodnight."

"You shouldn't have said that," Katie remarks softly. "She didn't want Zeus to turn her into a tree. She had a choice, and she chose to die. Zeus just gave her more time to be a hunted animal."

"She shouldn't have said that I don't remember my mother or my past life. I don't, but that was a low blow," returns Nico angrily. "I'm going to sleep too. Goodnight."

x.o.x.o.x.

"Thals?"

Thalia stops in her tracks. She had stormed from the kitchen, angry at her cousin and wishing Percy was here to comfort her like the brother he felt like to her. But here stands her real, biological brother, Jason. "Hi," she replies tersely.

Jason arches an eyebrow. "Is something wrong, Thalia?"

His sister stands there, in the middle of an unknown hallway, on the plush red carpet, with a lost look on her face. "I just wish Percy was here," she murmurs, closing her eyes briefly as she sinks down to sit, legs crossed, on the carpet.

"Great, _more_ about him," mutters Jason angrily. Louder, he says, "Why?"

"I'm not sure how to put it in words," Thalia replies softly. "But he feels like a brother to me. Sometimes a younger one, sometimes an older one. The point is, he's a cousin, a friend, and a brother. He's slow on the uptake sometimes, but I still love him. Not in the way Annabeth does, of course, but in a brotherly way. I wish he was here for me to talk to."

Jason rolls his blue eyes. "I'm here," he says sharply. "You can talk to me. _I'm_ your _real_ brother."

Thalia looks at him in surprise. "I know you are, Jason, but I'm closer to Percy than I am to you. Plus…" She trails off, studying him intently. "Are you jealous?"

Her brother throws up his hands, his blue eyes alight with anger. "Why does everyone keep accusing me of being jealous of that piece of crap? I'll tell you once and only once, Thalia, _I am not jealous of Percy Jackson_!"

"Well, it certainly _sounds_ like you are," retorts Thalia. "And _I_ will tell _you_ only once, Jason, _I do not take kindly to someone, even my own brother, who insults or ridicules my friends_." She stands. "Percy Jackson is not a piece of crap, Jason Grace. _You_ are jealous because at Camp Half-Blood, the only one anyone ever thought about was Percy. Because he is our hero, but more importantly, our friend. We are not Romans, Jason. We care about one another. They didn't shun me just because I'm a Hunter." And just to fuel his anger further, Thalia adds, "For your information, Percy would have listened to me, let me vent all my anger, not turn the attention to him. Good_night_, Jason." Turning on her heel, she storms off.

x.o.x.o.x.

Poseidon sits alone at the grand dining room of the gods. He hadn't been able to sleep. The words of the book chronicling his son's life kept swirling in his head.

"Lord Poseidon?"

He looks up, pushing the thoughts of Percy's dangerous life aside for now. Smiling, he greets his niece, "Persephone. Come join me."

The Goddess of Spring obliges, coming to sit beside him, her head tilted to look at the ceiling thoughtfully.

"Have you something on your mind?" inquires Poseidon of his favorite niece.

Persephone sighs. "I was just thinking of Maria, Bianca, and Nico di Angelo," she confesses, her green eyes troubled.

"Ah," Poseidon says quietly.

His niece nods. "Yes." Biting her lip, she says, "Lord Poseidon, have you ever felt guilty for cheating on Lady Amphitrite?"

Poseidon looks at her, surprised. But as the shock wears off, he begins to contemplate the question seriously. "I have," he replies finally. "Especially with my most recent demigod child… Percy. Or to be more technical, Sally."

"Do you truly love Lady Amphitrite, Lord Poseidon?" Persephone questions softly.

Again, her uncle looks surprised, but answers sincerely, "Yes. I love her with all my heart. But Sally has a place in my heart as well, because she is the mother of one of my sons."

Persephone sighs again, laying her head down on her folded arms. "Lord Poseidon… I don't think my lord loves me any longer. I've suspected it for over seventy years."

"Sephie, my dear, I know for a fact that my brother loves you just as he loves his realm," Poseidon assures her gently.

"How can you be sure?" Persephone demands.

"He has not loved any other, Persephone, only you."

Persephone begins to shake her head, a tear falling from her left eye. "He doesn't love me, Lord Poseidon, he doesn't. He loves _that woman_, he loves Maria di Angelo." The tears begin to fall a little faster. "That Italian woman stole his heart. She stole _him_ from me."

"Oh, Persephone," sighs Poseidon, hugging her lightly.

"He's all I have, Lord Poseidon. My mother does love me, but she's busy with her job and with her demigod children and her mortal affairs. My lord is the only one who has ever been there for me, even if his responsibilities are overwhelming. I don't know what I would do if he left me, if he put me in the upper world. Or if he denied me the right to rule the Underworld. All the stories call it the 'Rape of Persephone' or the 'Abduction of Persephone', but I do love him. I have for millennia. If he denied me to right to rule the Underworld, I wouldn't care. But I would care deeply if he withdrew his love."

"Talk to him about it, Seph," advises Poseidon quietly. "I think you two need to sit down and discuss this, not with me."

Persephone sniffles. "I guess so. Thank you, Lord Poseidon." She smiles slightly. "I knew this is why I chose you to be my favorite uncle."

Poseidon chuckles. "I'm honored." Then he winks. "Though I think _Hades_ is your favorite uncle."

His niece pulls a face. "Uncle! Stop!"

x.o.x.o.x.

As the clock strikes five, the Goddess of Wisdom and her daughter rouse from sleep and both head toward the grand dining room where Poseidon and Persephone had sat hours earlier.

"Annabeth!" Athena exclaims, upon seeing her daughter enter the dining room seconds after she had taken her seat.

"Mother," Annabeth replies with a smile. "You sound surprised."

Athena nods. "I am. My expectation was that you would be the late rouser like your father, not the early riser like I am." She tilts her head at her daughter, slightly confused. "How did you get here?"

Annabeth smiles wider. "As for your first point, Mother, I carry more of your traits than physical appearance. And I could never wake up as late as Dad does. He's like a bear hibernating. For your question… I know my way quite well around Olympus, Mother. I am overseeing the rebuilding of the place."

"Oh, that's right," Athena says proudly. "I'm so proud of you for becoming Architect of Olympus."

"Thank you," Annabeth replies gratefully. "That's why I'm glad I'm not like Dad in the morning aspect. I need all the possible time to plan and design this place."

Inspiration strikes Athena. "Daughter, would you like to come to my office and my library? I'm sure I will be able to dig up some architecture books."

"Thank you," Annabeth repeats, "but I know for a fact that most of my demigod friends will be awake soon, Mother. And I've seen your study and library before."

Athena looks alarmed. "I just realized! What happens to my library in the future?"

"I'm sure it won't appear in the books, but I don't want to tell you yet. Maybe after the third or fourth, or even fifth, book, I'm afraid, Mother."

x.o.x.o.x.

Sure enough, within another two hours, nearly everyone that had been reading the books the day before appears at the breakfast table.

"That slacker," complains Hera.

"Calm down, Lady Hera, Father will be down soon," snaps Thalia, already impatient with her stepmother.

Hera stares at her angrily. "You obviously don't know your father very well, then, demigod. He sleeps later than you do."

"In case you haven't noticed, _Lady_, I was the third one down here, right after Annabeth," returns Thalia, her electric blue eyes threatening a storm.

Hera harrumphs but otherwise stays silent, her brown eyes intent on the door.

Poseidon, meanwhile, smiles at the visiting demigods. "Just say whatever you would like to your plates. We normally have a large spread of mortal food, but we figured that you'd be in a hurry to get back to reading."

The gods' plates already had ambrosia on them, and the goblets held nectar, the drink of the gods. Hermes and Apollo, however, also request elaborate mortal breakfast foods from their plates, much to Artemis's eye rolling.

Hearing Poseidon's last sentence, Jason snorts derisively, causing his sister and Piper to look at him sharply. He avoids their gazes and instead looks down at the plate, requesting scrambled eggs and sausage.

Thalia looks away from her brother, takes a bite of her own food, and leans over to Annabeth. "Did the Roman praetor sleep in Athena's guest room last night?"

Her friend nods back at her. "She did. She seems really nice, you know. Like a good person to work with, especially running a demigod camp. I think Percy would work okay with her."

"I miss him," Thalia says quietly. "I can't help but feel bitter that the Romans got our Algae Arse and we didn't."

"I feel the same way," Annabeth reassures her, and then does a double take. "_Algae Arse_?" she repeats, giggling.

Thalia laughs. "Yeah, Algae Arse. Fish Face got a little old."

Annabeth smiles fondly. "But Seaweed Brain never will."

"No it won't, Wise Girl," teases Thalia.

x.o.x.o.x.

After breakfast (and a show of Hera yelling at Zeus to 'get his immortal arse in motion or she would do a lot worse than what she does to his mortal girlfriends') the Olympians, Persephone, Hades, and the demigods head for the throne room, where everyone settles down comfortably.

Before Reyna takes her seat, she notices that Octavian is missing. "Where is Octavian?" she demands of no one in particular.

Everyone shrugs carelessly, even the gods.

Huffing, Reyna mutters, "Useless. All he ever does is gut those stuffed animals." Raising her voice, she cries, "We should gut Octavian like his stuffed animals!"

Hazel bursts into laughter, and begins to nod in agreement. "Yes, we should."

Apollo gets a look in his eye and Artemis groans. "His haiku look," she informs the demigods.

"Octavian is dead now

Rejoice this momentous occasion

Have fun."

"Apollo?" asks Athena sweetly. He looks at her triumphantly. "That didn't fit the requirements of a haiku."

Apollo pouts. "Don't be a party pooper, Athena! But it was good, even if it didn't fit, right?"

"Better than your other ones," Artemis says to him grudgingly.

"Who would like to read?" Zeus asks, interrupting his children's conversation.

Katie raises her hand. "I would, please."

Once the book is in her hands, she settles into her throne-like chair and prepares to read the next chapter in her friend's life.

x.o.x.o.x.

A/N: First of all, I'd like to thank Jimanji the Cynical for allowing me to use that little 'haiku' from Apollo. ;) I hope you liked that filler chapter and until next time, I love you all!


	10. I am Offered a Quest

A/N: My fic has been reported, but I won't be deleting it anytime soon. There are plenty of these stories out there that have no doubt also been reported, but still go on. I hope you support my decision and I'll just hope for the best, I guess. Wish me luck! ;) So enjoy this next chapter!

Oh, and JUST A SIDE NOTE: I'M NOT SAYING A SINGLE WORD ON WHEN PERCY WILL APPEAR, SO I WOULDN'T WASTE TIME TYPING THE QUESTION! 

x.o.x.o.x.

**I am Offered a Quest,** reads Katie.

"I thought quests were forbidden at this time?" an outraged Athena demands. "That was why my daughter didn't get the chance to prove herself, wasn't it?"

"Mother!" exclaims Annabeth. "Just listen to Katie read!"

**The next morning, Chiron moved me to cabin three. **

"CABIN THREE!" cheers Poseidon.

Athena looks at him. "Kelp-for-Brains, you're just as insane as Apollo."

"Join the club, Uncle P!" yells Apollo, grinning like a fool.

Poseidon rolls his eyes at both of them. "Athena, come up with some new nicknames, why don't you?"

"Yeah, 'Kelp-for-Brains' is getting kind of old," Connor comments.

**I didn't have to share with anybody. I had plenty of room for all my stuff: the Minotaur's horn, one set of spare clothes, and a toiletry bag. I got to sit at my own dinner table, pick all my own activities, call "lights out" whenever I felt like it, and not listen to anybody else.**

"AWESOME!" shouts Travis.

Hermes looks sharply at his family. "A far cry from cabin eleven."

**And I was absolutely miserable. **

Connor gapes. "BUT THAT'S SO COOL!"

Thalia shakes her head. "It isn't really, Connor. You feel like an outcast, being the only one in your cabin. That's why I'm glad I'm with the Hunters now; it's like having built-in sisters." She smiles warmly at Artemis. "And the best oldest sister to go along with it."

Artemis smiles back. "You are a good choice for my future lieutenant, Thalia."

**Just when I'd started to feel accepted, to feel I had a home in cabin eleven and I might be a normal kid - or as normal as you can be when you're a half-blood - I'd been separated out as if I had some rare disease. **

To some people's surprise, Jason nods in agreement along with Nico. "It's true. You feel so isolated," Jason remarks.

Piper looks at him in awe. _Maybe he isn't so jealous_.

**Nobody mentioned the hellhound, but I got the feeling they were all talking about it behind my back. The attack had scared everybody.**

"But especially Percy," Hera states. "Poor boy, and so early on too! I expected him to have a calm first Capture the Flag game."

Rachel snorts. "Calm? That word shouldn't be in the same _sentence_ as Percy Jackson, with his luck."

Hera glares at her. "Be quiet, mortal."

"I am Percy's friend, and I have a right to speak," Rachel snaps back. "You can't argue with me. I'm the Oracle."

"Yeah, Stepmother!" yells Apollo. Hera flinches at the term. "Don't mess with my awesome Oracle!"

Reyna grins, glad that Octavian isn't here. He would have been furious.

As if reading her mind, Frank asks, "Where is Octavian?"

"I don't know and I don't care," replies Nico.

No one bothers to answer or contradict Nico.

No one notices the mischievous looks Travis and Connor exchange either.

**It sent two messages: one, that I was the son of the Sea God; and two, monsters would stop at nothing to kill me. They could even invade a camp that had always been considered safe.**

Poseidon blanches. "Not a very comforting thought."

**The other campers steered clear of me as much as possible. Cabin eleven was too nervous to have sword class with me after what I'd done to the Ares folks in the woods, so my lessons with Luke became one-on-one.**

The Sea God turns to glare at Travis and Connor, including Hermes in on his glare as well. "There's _nothing_ wrong with my son. Why are you treating him like he has some disease?"

In response, the twins avert their gazes guiltily.

**He pushed me harder than ever, and wasn't afraid to bruise me up in the process.**

Poseidon rolls his eyes. "Show-off," he mutters.

Hermes glares at him.

**"You're going to need all the training you can get," he promised,**

"He's a better swordsman and person than you could ever be, Luke," murmurs Thalia, but her eyes get a little bright.

Jason scowls, his jealous side surfacing again. "I'm a better swordsman than Jackson," he mutters to himself.

**as we were working with swords and flaming torches. "Now let's try that viper-beheading strike again. Fifty more repetitions."**

"FIFTY?" yells Poseidon, just as Nico winces and says, "It was bad enough with a different instructor than Luke."

**Annabeth still taught me Greek in the mornings, but she seemed distracted. Every time I said something, she scowled at me, as if I'd just poked her between the eyes. **

"Are you sure you didn't?" Athena asks snidely.

**After lessons, she would walk away muttering to herself: "Quest ... Poseidon? ... Dirty rotten ... Got to make a plan ..."**

"Yes, good girl," Athena compliments Annabeth.

Annabeth looks at her in confusion. "Mother?"

"Yes, Poseidon. Yes, he is dirty rotten. And yes, you've got to make a plan," explains Athena slowly, as if talking to a two-year-old.

Hearing her tone loud and clear, Annabeth scowls almost as hard as Jason. "Mother, can't you be civil once in a while?"

Athena looks taken aback. "Annabeth?

**Even Clarisse kept her distance,**

"Good," snarls Poseidon.

Clarisse barely flinches, but she keeps her gaze downward.

**though her venomous looks made it clear she wanted to kill me for breaking her magic spear. I wished she would just yell or punch me or something. I'd rather get into fights every day than be ignored. **

Clarisse chuckles darkly. "Good to know," she murmurs.

Poseidon glares at her, as if daring her to try.

"I couldn't anyway," Clarisse mumbles. "He's missing."

All at once, Poseidon drops his glare and looks up at the ceiling, and Annabeth gives a little gasp.

Thalia puts an arm around Annabeth and glares heatedly at Clarisse, muttering to herself, "_Tactless_."

**I knew somebody at camp resented me, because one night I came into my cabin and found a mortal newspaper dropped inside the doorway, a copy of the New York Daily News, opened to the Metro page.**

Remembering that particular newspaper, Hermes flinches.

"Luke?" Thalia hisses to Annabeth and Nico.

Annabeth shrugs, wiping her eyes quickly with the back of her hand. "I'm not sure. I don't think I ever found out. It could be, though."

**The article took me almost an hour to read, because the angrier I got, the more the words floated around on the page. **

**BOY AND MOTHER STILL MISSING AFTER**

**FREAK CAR ACCIDENT**

**BY EILEEN SMYTHE**

**Sally Jackson and son Percy are still missing one week after their mysterious disappearance. The family's badly burned '78 Camaro was discovered last Saturday on a north Long Island road with the roof ripped off and the front axle broken. The car had flipped and skidded for several hundred feet before exploding. **

**Mother and son had gone for a weekend vacation to Montauk, but left hastily, under mysterious circumstances. **

"No sh-" Apollo begins.

"Apollo! Language!" snaps Artemis.

"Yes, Mom," teases Apollo.

Artemis glares.

"Okay, okay. No duh they're mysterious circumstances! Ignorant mortals," Apollo corrects himself.

**Small traces of blood were found in the car and near the scene of the wreck, but there were no other signs of the missing Jacksons. Residents in the rural area reported seeing nothing unusual around the time of the accident.**

"Ah, the wonders of the Mist," Hermes says proudly, beaming.

**Ms. Jackson's husband, Gabe Ugliano,**

"That _thing_ shouldn't be called her husband," growls Poseidon.

Annabeth smirks. "Excuse me, Lord Poseidon, but calling Gabe Ugliano a _thing_ is an insult to things."

**claims that his stepson, Percy Jackson, is a troubled child who has been kicked out of numerous boarding schools and has expressed violent tendencies in the past.**

"HE'S BEEN KICKED OUT BECAUSE HE'S A FREAKING DEMIGOD! THAT'S NORMAL!" screams Thalia, her electric blue eyes angry.

When he sees everyone looking at her in alarm, except for Jason, Nico explains rather quickly, "She's very protective of her friends. Even after she joined the Hunters."

Artemis purses her lips slightly in disapproval, but doesn't comment.

**Police would not say whether son Percy is a suspect in his mother's disappearance, but they have not ruled out foul play.**

Hera growls lowly. "The boy wouldn't kidnap his own mother! The only family dysfunctional enough to kidnap their own parent or family member is this one!"

**Below are recent pictures of Sally Jackson and Percy. Police urge anyone with information to call the following toll-free crime-stoppers hotline. **

**The phone number was circled in black marker. **

"Whoever did that will pay," mumbles Poseidon, his sea-green eyes flashing in anger.

**I wadded up the paper and threw it away, then flopped down in my bunk bed in the middle of my empty cabin. **

**"Lights out, " I told myself miserably. **

"Poor boy," coos Aphrodite. "He needs some love in his life!"

"No he doesn't," snaps Poseidon.

**That night, I had my worst dream yet. **

"Great," Poseidon groans, his face already paling.

**I was running along the beach in a storm. This time, there was a city behind me. Not New York. The sprawl was different: buildings spread farther apart, palm trees and low hills in the distance. **

**About a hundred yards down the surf, two men were fighting. They looked like TV wrestlers, muscular, with beards and long hair.**

Zeus and Poseidon glance immediately at each other.

**Both wore flowing Greek tunics, one trimmed in blue, the other in green. They grappled with each other, wrestled, kicked and head-butted, and every time they connected, lightning flashed, the sky grew darker, and the wind rose. **

"Good gods, that fight is bad," Demeter observes.

"WAR!" chants Ares gleefully.

**I had to stop them. I didn't know why. But the harder I ran, the more the wind blew me back, until I was running in place, my heels digging uselessly in the sand.**

"Time?" Annabeth mumbles to herself. "Or Poseidon trying to keep Percy safe?"

**Over the roar of the storm, I could hear the blue-robed one yelling at the green-robed one, Give it back! Give it back! Like a kindergartner fighting over a toy. **

Hera grins. "That is a fantastic description of Zeus, you know? A kindergartner."

Zeus glares at her. "Thanks, Hera."

**The waves got bigger, crashing into the beach, spraying me with salt. **

**I yelled, Stop it! Stop fighting!**

Will nods, saying sarcastically, "That's sure to work."

**The ground shook. Laughter came from somewhere under the earth, and a voice so deep and evil it turned my blood to ice. **

"Hades?" Hestia whispers, looking at her brother.

Hades simply looks confused, but he shakes his head. "It can't be me."

Hephaestus speaks up. "No, it can't be. It says that it was _'so deep and evil it turned my blood to ice'_. Hades isn't that evil."

Zeus looks at his two brothers, saying in Ancient Greek, "πατέρας." (Father.)

Poseidon and Hades stay silent.

**Come down, little hero, the voice crooned. Come down!**

**The sand split beneath me, opening up a crevice straight down to the center of the earth. My feet slipped, and darkness swallowed me. **

**I woke up, sure I was falling. **

**I was still in bed in cabin three. My body told me it was morning, but it was dark outside, and thunder rolled across the hills. A storm was brewing. I hadn't dreamed that.**

"Fight again," sighs Hestia. "Why can't we have peace?"

"Peace, sister?" Hera asks, snorting. "We've never had peace in this family; why start now?"

"PEACE?" Ares basically screeches. "Peace is boring. WAR ALL THE WAY!"

**I heard a clopping sound at the door, a hoof knocking on the threshold. **

"Chiron," Athena says.

**"Come in?"**

**Grover trotted inside, looking worried.**

For once, Poseidon doesn't comment on his niece/enemy's lack of wisdom, but Apollo can't resist.

"Ooh, Athena's wrong! What's up, Theeny? Having a brain freeze?" he teases.

Athena glares at him. "It was a logical explanation, Apollo. Chiron had hooves," she replies stiffly and haughtily. "And don't call me Theeny!"

**"Mr. D wants to see you."**

**"Why?"**

**"He wants to kill... I mean, I'd better let him tell you."**

Persephone sighs. "What a consoling thought. He wants to kill."

**Nervously, I got dressed and followed, sure that I was in huge trouble.**

**For days, I'd been half expecting a summons to the Big House. Now that I was declared a son of Poseidon, one of the Big Three gods who weren't supposed to have kids, I figured it was a crime for me just to be alive.**

"Oh, it is," agrees Thalia knowingly.

**The other gods had probably been debating the best way to punish me for existing, and now Mr. D was ready to deliver their verdict. **

"WAR?" asks Ares hopefully.

"Yeah, makes sense," Aphrodite snaps at him.

"Aphrodite? Making sense?" Athena asks in mock-surprise.

Aphrodite glances at her. "You're not making much sense today or yesterday, Athena."

Athena flushes.

**Over Long Island Sound, the sky looked like ink soup coming to a boil. A hazy curtain of rain was coming in our direction. I asked Grover if we needed an umbrella. **

"**No, " he said. "It never rains here unless we want it to."**

"Which is totally awesome," Travis says.

**I pointed at the storm. "What the heck is that, then?"**

"Zeus being Zeus," Hera replies.

"And that's being angry?" Hazel asks skeptically.

Hera barely spares her a nod.

Reyna leans over and whispers, "Juno doesn't care for demigods much. Just the original Jason and our Jason."

"And Percy," Hazel mutters back slyly with a grin.

Reyna laughs quietly, nodding.

**He glanced uneasily at the sky. "It'll pass around us. Bad weather always does."**

"Unless Zeus wishes to unleash his full anger, right?" asks Clarisse.

Zeus glares at her.

**I realized he was right. In the week I'd been here, it had never even been overcast. The few rain clouds I'd seen had skirted right around the edges of the valley. **

**But this storm ... This one was huge. **

"This is not good," murmurs Persephone.

**At the volleyball pit, the kids from Apollo's cabin were playing a morning game against the satyrs. Dionysus's twins were walking around in the strawberry fields, making the plants grow. Everybody was going about their normal business, but they looked tense. They kept their eyes on the storm. **

"Do you think this one can get past the camp boundaries?" Hestia asks in worry.

Nico smiles reassuringly at her. "I'm sure it can't. Our boundaries are strong."

**Grover and I walked up to the front porch of the Big House. Dionysus sat at the pinochle table in his tiger-striped Hawaiian shirt with his Diet Coke, just as he had on my first day. Chiron sat across the table in his fake wheelchair. They were playing against invisible opponents - two sets of cards hovering in the ****air. **

**"Well, well, " Mr. D said without looking up. "Our little celebrity."**

**I waited. **

Travis and Connor nod in approval. "Nonchalance is best," Travis says.

Katie glances at him. "And you know this because…"

Travis gulps, gets up, and cowers behind his brother's chair.

Rolling her eyes, Katie continues:

**"Come closer, " Mr. D said. "And don't expect me to kowtow to you, mortal, just because old Barnacle-Beard is your father."**

Poseidon doesn't even take offense, instead saying, "See, Athena? Even _Dionysus_ can come up with a better nickname than you can. And that's saying a lot."

"Yeah!" agrees Dionysus. "Wait- what?"

"B-but this is in the future! So I've had to have come up with more!" Athena protests weakly.

Apollo grins. "Whatever floats your boat, Theeny."

**A net of lightning flashed across the clouds. Thunder shook the windows of the house. **

"Why am I mad that Dionysus is calling Poseidon Barnacle-Beard?" a baffled Zeus asks.

Clarisse rolls her eyes and mutters, "Dysfunctional."

"Like you," Nico shoots back.

**"Blah, blah, blah," Dionysus said. **

**Chiron feigned interest in his pinochle cards. Grover cowered by the railing, his hooves clopping back and forth. **

**"If I had my way, " Dionysus said, "I would cause your molecules to erupt in flames.**

"What a pleasant mental image," Artemis comments, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

**We'd sweep up the ashes and be done with a lot of trouble. **

"Can't we do that to Dionysus, Zeus?" Poseidon suggests.

"Unfortunately, no. We need to have someone run that camp," Zeus answers, to everyone's (except Dionysus) disappointment.

"But _Daaaaaaa-ad!" _whines Hermes.

**But Chiron seems to feel this would be against my mission at this cursed camp: to keep you little brats safe from harm."**

"That _is_ your mission, Dionysus," Hera tells him. "To keep those demigod brats in line."

"And to serve the purpose of me punishing him and relishing it," Zeus adds.

**"Spontaneous combustion is a form of harm, Mr. D," Chiron put in. **

"Oh, really?" Annabeth questions, her eyes taking a roll.

Leo beams. "A lot of sarcasm going around today! I like it!"

Piper looks at him like he's insane. "Um… right then."

**"Nonsense," Dionysus said. "Boy wouldn't feel a thing. Nevertheless, I've agreed to restrain myself I'm thinking of turning you into a dolphin instead, sending you back to your father."**

"I would agree to that, except Percy needs to train," Poseidon speaks up.

**"Mr. D-" Chiron warned. **

**"Oh, all right," Dionysus relented. "There's one more option. But it's deadly foolishness."**

Athena leans forward, her mind beginning to work out the possibilities. "Hmm… I wonder…"

"Don't even try, Athena," jokes Hermes. "You won't get it anyway."

His half-sister glares at him, but doesn't reply.

"Today _is_ an off day, isn't it?" Apollo inquires conversationally.

"Yesterday was too," chimes in Poseidon.

"Boys," chastises a gentle-voiced Hestia.

Poseidon pouts. "I am _not_ a boy!"

Demeter scoffs. "You're acting like it. Go get some cereal, or I can make it appear. It'll help!" Everyone groans. "What? It's true! If you all just listened to me, we'd be one big happy family!" No one looks at her. Huffing indignantly, she snaps, "Just read, Katie."

**Dionysus rose, and the invisible players' cards dropped to the table. "I'm off to Olympus for the emergency meeting. If the boy is still here when I get back, I'll turn him into an Atlantic bottlenose. Do you understand? And Perseus Jackson, if you're at all smart, you'll see that's a much more sensible choice than what Chiron feels you must do."**

Thalia gasps dramatically. "Did Mr. D just… _get his name right_?"

**Dionysus picked up a playing card, twisted it, and it became a plastic rectangle. A credit card? No. A security pass. **

Apollo frowns.

**He snapped his fingers. **

**The air seemed to fold and bend around him. He became a hologram, then a wind, then he was gone, leaving only the smell of fresh-pressed grapes lingering behind. **

"Nah, that's nothing," Ares says, waving it off. "FRESH BLOOD IS MUCH BETTER!"

Everyone looks at him oddly.

"Are you positive you aren't a vampire, Ares?" Hades asks.

**Chiron smiled at me, but he looked tired and strained. "Sit, Percy, please. And Grover."**

**We did. **

**Chiron laid his cards on the table, a winning hand he hadn't gotten to use. **

**"Tell me, Percy, " he said. "What did you make of the hellhound?"**

Poseidon rolls his eyes. "What a stupid question. _Heck, it was nothing. He eats hellhounds for breakfast, Chiron_," he replies sarcastically.

**Just hearing the name made me shudder. **

Katie pauses, stifling a giggle.

**Chiron probably wanted me to say, Heck, it was nothing. I eat hellhounds for breakfast.**

Everyone laughs, but Poseidon just smiles. It feels nice to know that his son got a lot more from him than he realized.

**But I didn't feel like lying. **

"Lying? Oh, no! It's just sarcasm," Leo declares.

**"It scared me, " I said. "If you hadn't shot it, I'd be dead."**

"Who wouldn't want that?" Clarisse mumbles.

The other Greek demigods smile, knowing she didn't really mean it, but Jason agrees silently in his head, completely missing the sarcasm.

**"You'll meet worse, Percy. Far worse, before you're done."**

"**Done ... With what?"**

**"Your quest, of course. Will you accept it?"**

"A QUEST!" cheers Hermes.

"ACCEPT IT!" adds Apollo.

Poseidon blanches. "Quests aren't always good," he mutters to himself.

**I glanced at Grover, who was crossing his fingers. **

**"Um, sir," I said, "you haven't told me what it is yet."**

**Chiron grimaced. "Well, that's the hard part, the details."**

"Only Chiron," Connor grins.

**Thunder rumbled across the valley. The storm clouds had now reached the edge of the beach. As far as I could see, the sky and the sea were boiling together.**

The two brothers wince. "This must be bad," Zeus says.

"You have a brain," Hades observes sarcastically.

**"Poseidon and Zeus," I said. "They're fighting over something valuable ... Something that was stolen, aren't they?"**

As the sentence fades into the air, realization dawns on everyone.

"The lightning bolt," Hephaestus murmurs.

"YOUR SON STOLE MY MASTER BOLT!" screeches Zeus, pointing accusingly at Poseidon with one hand and stroking said bolt soothingly with his free hand.

"PERSEUS DID NOT STEAL ANYTHING!" retorts Poseidon. "YOU ARE SO IN LOVE WITH THAT BOLT, IT'S NAUSEATING!"

Hera sniffs in disdain. "For once, I must agree with Poseidon. It _is_ quite nauseating how in love you are with that bolt. More so than you ever were with me."

"Don't be stupid, Hera," Zeus snaps.

"Can we not read?" Athena demands. "There is a whole book about your bolt, Father, don't you want to listen?"

**Chiron and Grover exchanged looks. **

**Chiron sat forward in his wheelchair. "How did you know that?"**

"Because he's been having wonderful dreams about it- like My Little Pony!" answers Piper, rolling her eyes.

**My face felt hot. I wished I hadn't opened my big mouth. "The weather since Christmas has been weird, like the sea and the sky are fighting. Then I talked to Annabeth, and she'd overheard something about a theft. And ... I've also been having these dreams."**

**"I knew it," Grover said. **

**"Hush, satyr," Chiron ordered.**

"Chiron isn't usually that brusque with the satyrs," Artemis comments.

**"But it is his quest!" Grover's eyes were bright with excitement. "It must be!"**

**"Only the Oracle can determine." **

"YES! Go seek my Oracle! Cuz it's the best thing _eva_!" squeals Apollo.

Hades looks down, averting everyone's eyes.

"You sound like Aphrodite in Saks Fifth Avenue, Apollo. Or worse yet, in her _closet_," Artemis tells him.

"HEY!"

**Chiron stroked his bristly beard. "Nevertheless, Percy, you are correct. Your father and Zeus are having their worst quarrel in centuries. They are fighting over something valuable that was stolen. To be precise: a lightning bolt."**

"I knew it," Athena says triumphantly.

**I laughed nervously. "A what?"**

**"Do not take this lightly, " Chiron warned. "I'm not talking about some tinfoil-covered zigzag you'd see in a second-grade play. I'm talking about a two-foot-long cylinder of high-grade celestial bronze, capped on both ends with god-level explosives."**

"Chiron certainly is dramatic lately," Jason says.

**"Oh."**

**"Zeus's master bolt," Chiron said, getting worked up now. "The symbol of his power, from which all other lightning bolts are patterned. The first weapon made by the Cyclopes for the war against the Titans, the bolt that sheered the top off Mount Etna and hurled Kronos from his throne; the master bolt, which packs enough power to make mortal hydrogen bombs look like firecrackers."**

**"And it's missing?"**

**"Stolen," Chiron said. **

**"By who?"**

"HIS SON!" Zeus accuses, pointing at Poseidon, as Athena corrects at the same time, "By whom."

**"By whom, " Chiron corrected. **

"You think like a centaur!" Hermes teases Athena.

"Shut up," Athena grumbles.

**Once a teacher, always a teacher. "By you."**

"SEE?" demands Zeus. "Even CHIRON agrees!"

Poseidon rolls his eyes in exasperation at his brother before saying warmly to Katie, "Please read on, Katie."

**My mouth fell open.**

**"At least" - Chiron held up a hand – "that's what Zeus thinks. **

"And what Father thinks isn't exactly newsworthy. Or true," Athena adds.

Zeus glares at her. "I don't know why you're my favorite daughter, Athena."

"Because I'm smart. And you love me."

Zeus rolls his eyes.

"And I sprouted from your head."

"I should hate you for that."

**During the winter solstice, at the last council of the gods, Zeus and Poseidon had an argument. The usual nonsense: 'Mother Rhea always liked you best, ' Air disasters are more spectacular than sea disasters, ' et cetera. **

"Nonsense? Air disasters _are_ more spectacular than sea disasters!" argues Zeus.

"And Mother Rhea always _did_ like you best," Poseidon grumbles in response.

"Immature," Hera snaps at them.

**Afterward, Zeus realized his master bolt was missing, taken from the throne room under his very nose. He immediately blamed Poseidon. Now, a god cannot usurp another god's symbol of power directly - that is forbidden by the most ancient of divine laws. But Zeus believes your father convinced a human hero to take it."**

**"But I didn't-"**

"Of course he did," snarls Zeus.

"It SAYS HE DIDN'T, FOR GODS' SAKES, ZEUS!" explodes Poseidon.

"How can you be sure?" Zeus demands angrily.

"IT'S_ HIS_ BOOK, YOU DIMWITTED PRAT! HE'S NOT GOING TO LIE IN HIS _OWN BOOK_!"

Zeus falls silent, but doesn't say how logical he thinks it is.

**"Patience and listen, child," Chiron said. "Zeus has good reason to be suspicious. The forges of the Cyclopes are under the ocean, which gives Poseidon some influence over the makers of his brother's lightning. Zeus believes Poseidon has taken the master bolt, and is now secretly having the Cyclopes build an arsenal of illegal copies, which might be used to topple Zeus from his throne. **

Even Athena rolls her eyes at this revelation.

"That is completely illogical, Father, even if it _is_ in the future. Your brain is going into overdrive – in the bad way. You're over thinking it!"

**The only thing Zeus wasn't sure about was which hero Poseidon used to steal the bolt. Now Poseidon has openly claimed you as his son. You were in New York over the winter holidays. You could easily have snuck into Olympus. Zeus believes he has found his thief."**

Reyna, remembering the time when, in the book, Annabeth said that they visited Olympus during the winter solstice, looks quickly at the daughter of Athena and her current roommate.

Annabeth, however, doesn't look back at Reyna, caught up in the story.

**"But I've never even been to Olympus! Zeus is crazy!"**

Zeus opens his mouth to possibly yell, but Athena cuts him off with, "I agree with sea spawn for probably the only time. Father _is_ crazy. That strategy makes absolutely no sense! It has way too many holes!"

Her father glares at her, scowling, and mumbles, "I seriously have no idea what made me choose you as my favorite daughter above my millions of others."

Athena smiles sweetly at him.

"Oh, right. It's because you probably planted something in my brain while you were up there."

**Chiron and Grover glanced nervously at the sky. The clouds didn't seem to be parting around us, as Grover had promised. They were rolling straight over our valley, sealing us in like a coffin lid. **

**"Er, Percy ... ?" Grover said. "We don't use the c-word to describe the Lord of the Sky."**

"That's right. You don't insult me that way. Unless you want to be blasted with my master bolt, that is."

"Uh… Dad?" Apollo asks. "Your master bolt is kind of missing at this point in the book."

Zeus clutches his head.

"That's what you get for having so many illegitimate children and cheating on me," Hera tells him snappishly.

**"Perhaps paranoid, " Chiron suggested. "Then again, Poseidon has tried to unseat Zeus before. I believe that was question thirty-eight on your final exam... " He looked at me as if he actually expected me to remember question thirty-eight.**

"Percy doesn't have superpowers like a memory rivaling that of Annabeth's," Nico comments.

Annabeth glares at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing! It's just that you remember everything when it comes to trivia and stuff," Nico defends himself quickly.

"It's because I'm _smart_, Nico, not because I have a superhuman memory."

**How could anyone accuse me of stealing a god's weapon? I couldn't even steal a slice of pizza from Gabe's poker party without getting busted. **

At the mention of Gabe, Poseidon growls lowly, thinking up some things he could do to that pig of a man.

**Chiron was waiting for an answer.**

"He actually expects Percy to know the answer?" Persephone asks incredulously.

**"Something about a golden net?" I guessed. "Poseidon and Hera and a few other gods ... They, like, trapped Zeus and wouldn't let him out until he promised to be a better ruler, right?"**

Poseidon and Hera grin wickedly, glancing at each other.

"That was fun," Hera nods.

"Very," Poseidon agrees.

"But it didn't exactly work, did it?" Artemis asks.

"Yeah, Father hasn't exactly become an ideal ruler," Hephaestus chips in.

Ares chimes in, "There's too little war!"

"It's because he's the youngest of the six children of Kronos," Hades adds, his black eyes gleaming all of a sudden. "That's how our realms fare, now that I think of it. My realm is the richest and most thriving. I'm the oldest. Poseidon's realm isn't exactly overflowing with riches or subjects, but it isn't scattered like Zeus's. He's the middle brother. And Zeus is the least liked ruler. He's the youngest."

"Or his could just be the most thriving because all mortals die," Poseidon whispers to Zeus, who chuckles reluctantly.

**"Correct," Chiron said. "And Zeus has never trusted Poseidon since. **

Poseidon snorts. "Since when has he ever trusted me?"

**Of course, Poseidon denies stealing the master bolt. He took great offense at the accusation. The two have been arguing back and forth for months, threatening war. And now, you've come along-the proverbial last straw."**

"Wonderful," Will remarks.

"It is, isn't it?" Clarisse cheers. "It's war!"

**"But I'm just a kid!"**

**"Percy " Grover cut in, "if you were Zeus, and you already thought your brother was plotting to overthrow you, then your brother suddenly admitted he had broken the sacred oath he took after World War II, that he's fathered a new mortal hero who might be used as a weapon against you... Wouldn't that put a twist in your toga?"**

"And what exactly did I think when you admitted _you_ broke the sacred oath?" Poseidon inquires of Zeus lightly. He glances quickly at the son of Jupiter. "_Twice_?"

**"But I didn't do anything. Poseidon - my dad - he didn't really have this master bolt stolen, did he?"**

**Chiron sighed. "Most thinking observers would agree that thievery is not Poseidon's style. **

"Of course it isn't! That's _Hermes's _style!" Poseidon exclaims.

**But the Sea God is too proud to try convincing Zeus of that. Zeus has demanded that Poseidon return the bolt by the summer solstice. That's June twenty-first, ten days from now. Poseidon wants an apology for being called a thief by the same date. I hoped that diplomacy might prevail, that Hera or Demeter or Hestia would make the two brothers see sense. **

The three sisters look at each other and snort. Well, Hera and Demeter snort. Hestia simply rolls her warm eyes to the heavens – er, higher than they already were.

"Diplomacy?" Hera repeats.

"With those two?" Demeter adds.

"Impossible," Hestia finishes.

"We've been trying for many millennia," Hera says.

"To no avail," Demeter declares.

"And we don't plan on it happening anytime soon, either," Hestia comments.

Everybody looks at the three sisters, the three daughters of Kronos and Rhea.

Travis is the first to speak. "That was like watching Connor and I talk."

"And I take offense!" Poseidon and Zeus say at the same time, then glare at each other.

**But your arrival has inflamed Zeus's temper. Now neither god will back down. Unless someone intervenes, unless the master bolt is found and returned to Zeus before the solstice, there will be war. And do you know what a full-fledged war would look like, Percy?"**

"Not good," Rachel murmurs.

**"Bad?" I guessed. **

**"Imagine the world in chaos. Nature at war with itself. Olympians forced to choose sides between Zeus and Poseidon. **

"I'll go with Uncle P," volunteers Apollo.

Ares, surprisingly, nods in agreement. "His side of the war is always a lot more entertaining!"

Athena grudgingly says, "He has better tactics."

"Zeus never thinks," Hera offers as her choosing of the sides.

Demeter shrugs. "Poseidon eats more cereal."

"It'd be fun to topple Zeus," Hades remarks.

"I'm with Hades," Persephone announces.

A grin crosses Hephaestus's marred face. "Poseidon's weapons would be more interesting to make."

"Poseidon has better fashion choice!" Aphrodite squeals.

"Uncle P doesn't force me to make deliveries like Dad," Hermes adds, grinning boyishly.

Artemis chuckles. "I've never seen Poseidon's realm… maybe he'd let me if I fought for him."

"If Hades is going with Poseidon… I am," Dionysus says. "The Underworld has good wine."

Poseidon grins triumphantly at Zeus.

Zeus grumbles about a dysfunctional, disloyal family.

**Destruction. Carnage. Millions dead. Western civilization turned into a battleground so big it will make the Trojan War look like a water-balloon fight."**

The Romans, including Leo and Piper, wince.

"Was it that bad?" Piper asks.

The other Greek demigods nod grimly.

"I fought Krios. That was worse," Jason offers.

The Greek demigods, even Thalia, turn to glare at him. No one makes a comment, though, but they are all thinking one thing:

_Did you have to defend the entire island of Manhattan against Kronos and his ever-growing army?_

**"Bad," I repeated. **

**"And you, Percy Jackson, would be the first to feel Zeus's wrath."**

"Well," Demeter says. "Isn't that cheerful?"

**It started to rain. Volleyball players stopped their game and stared in stunned silence at the sky. **

Hestia looks upset. "I thought the boundaries wouldn't allow the storm to enter." She looks almost accusingly at Zeus.

Poseidon leans over and pats her hand with a warm smile. "It won't last long, I'm sure, Hestia."

His sister smiles back at him happily.

**I had brought this storm to Half-Blood Hill. Zeus was punishing the whole camp because of me. I was furious. **

"Furious Percy?" repeats Connor. He grins.

"This is gonna get good," Travis finishes for him.

**"So I have to find the stupid bolt, " I said. "And return it to Zeus."**

Zeus gasps loudly, offended. "My bolt is not _stupid_!"

**"What better peace offering, " Chiron said, "than to have the son of Poseidon return Zeus's property?"**

Poseidon winces. "Not exactly consoling, Chiron."

**"If Poseidon doesn't have it, where is the thing?"**

**"I believe I know." Chiron's expression was grim. "Part of a prophecy I had years ago ... Well, some of the lines make sense to me, now. But before I can say more, you must officially take up the quest. You must seek the counsel of the Oracle."**

"YEAH! THE ORACLE!" cheers Apollo.

**"Why can't you tell me where the bolt is beforehand?"**

"And make the whole thing a whole lot easier," agrees Reyna.

**"Because if I did, you would be too afraid to accept the challenge."**

"Very comforting," mutters Poseidon, already gripping his armrests.

**I swallowed. "Good reason."**

**"You agree then?"**

**I looked at Grover, who nodded encouragingly. **

**Easy for him. I was the one Zeus wanted to kill. **

"Actually-" Zeus begins.

"We know, Father!" snaps Thalia impatiently. "You want to kill one of my best and closest friends, Grover the satyr!"

**"All right," I said. "It's better than being turned into a dolphin."**

"No," Poseidon contradicts, "if you were a dolphin, you could come to my realm and be safely out of danger."

**"Then it's time you consulted the Oracle, " Chiron said. "Go upstairs, Percy Jackson, to the attic. When you come back down, assuming you're still sane, we will talk more."**

"Was Barnacle Boy _ever_ sane?" questions Nico innocently.

"I don't think so, Dead Dude," Thalia answers.

**Four flights up, the stairs ended under a green trap-door. **

**I pulled the cord. The door swung down, and a wooden ladder clattered into place. **

Hades winces slightly, feeling immensely guilty.

**The warm air from above smelled like mildew and rotten wood and something else ... A smell I remembered from biology class. Reptiles. The smell of snakes.**

Aphrodite shrieks in disgust and crinkles her nose.

"Such a girl," Ares mutters, still not over the fact that Aphrodite went against him.

Aphrodite looks at him irritably. "I _am_ a girl!"

**I held my breath and climbed. **

**The attic was filled with Greek hero junk: armor stands covered in cobwebs; once-bright shields pitted with rust; old leather steamer trunks plastered with stickers saying ITHAKA, CIRCE'S ISLE, and LAND OF THE AMAZONS. **

"Amazon . com?" Leo asks excitedly.

The Romans roll their eyes.

**One long table was stacked with glass jars filled with pickled things-severed hairy claws, huge yellow eyes, various other parts of monsters. A dusty mounted trophy on the wall looked like a giant snake's head, but with horns and a full set of shark's teeth. The plaque read, HYDRA HEAD #1, WOODSTOCK, N. Y. , 1969. **

"Ah, the hydra head," sighs Hermes happily.

"Oddball," Annabeth whispers to Thalia.

**By the window, sitting on a wooden tripod stool, was the most gruesome memento of all: a mummy. **

Now Apollo cringes too.

**Not the wrapped-in-cloth kind, but a human female body shriveled to a husk. She wore a tie-dyed sundress, lots of beaded necklaces, and a headband over long black hair. The skin of her face was thin and leathery over her skull, and her eyes were glassy white slits, as if the real eyes had been replaced by marbles; she'd been dead a long, long time. **

Hestia's eyes tear. "That poor girl," she murmurs, looking at Hades, who shifts uncomfortably and guiltily.

**Looking at her sent chills up my back. **

"In a good way or a bad way?" Hermes jokes weakly, but no one laughs.

**And that was before she sat up on her stool and opened her mouth. A green mist poured from the mummy's mouth, coiling over the floor in thick tendrils, hissing like twenty thousand snakes. I stumbled over myself trying to get to the trap-door, but it slammed shut. **

Nico couldn't explain it, but he feels weird, like he had a part in this.

His father looks anywhere but at the other gods and goddesses.

**Inside my head, I heard a voice, slithering into one ear and coiling around my brain: **_**I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, seeker, and ask.**_

**I wanted to say, No **_**thanks, wrong door, just looking for the bathroom.**_

This time, several nervous laughs are produced.

"Leave it to Seaweed Brain," Annabeth smiles wryly.

**But I forced myself to take a deep breath. **

**The mummy wasn't alive. She was some kind of gruesome receptacle for something else, the power that was now swirling around me in the green mist. But its presence didn't feel evil, like my demonic math teacher Mrs. Dodds or the Minotaur. It felt more like the Three Fates I'd seen knitting the yarn outside the highway fruit stand: ancient, powerful, and definitely **_**not**_** human. But not particularly interested in killing me, either. **

"Good way of putting it," Artemis mutters.

**I got up the courage to ask, "What is my destiny?"**

Rachel also chuckles dryly. "So dramatic."

**The mist swirled more thickly, collecting right in front of me and around the table with the pickled monster-part jars. Suddenly there were four men sitting around the table, playing cards. Their faces became clearer. It was Smelly Gabe and his buddies. **

Poseidon begins to grit his teeth in anger.

**My fists clenched, though I knew this poker party couldn't be real. It was an illusion, made out of mist. **

**Gabe turned toward me and spoke in the rasping voice of the Oracle: **_**You shall go west, and face the god who has turned. **_

The gods look at each other warily.

**His buddy on the right looked up and said in the same voice: **_**You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned. **_

Zeus breathes out in relief.

**The guy on the left threw in two poker chips, then said: **_**You shall he betrayed by one who calls you a friend. **_

"Who could that be?" wonders Poseidon. He looks at Annabeth and thinks of Grover.

**Finally, Eddie, our building super, delivered the worst line of all: **_**And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end.**_

"The bolt?" Zeus demands, the fear back.

"The second line, Father," Artemis reminds him.

**The figures began to dissolve. At first I was too stunned to say anything, but as the mist retreated, coiling into a huge green serpent and slithering back into the mouth of the mummy, I cried, "Wait! What do you mean? What friend? What will I fail to save?"**

Apollo shakes his head sadly. "The Oracle never answers questions. She speaks only prophecies." Then he looks at Rachel. "Not anymore, I guess."

Rachel smiles slightly.

**The tail of the mist snake disappeared into the mummy's mouth. She reclined back against the wall. Her mouth closed tight, as if it hadn't been open in a hundred years. The attic was silent again, abandoned, nothing but a room full of mementos. **

"Eerie," Hazel comments.

**I got the feeling that I could stand here until I had cobwebs, too, and I wouldn't learn anything else. **

"Nope," Hermes says, popping the p. He tries to forget about May's attempt; it was too heartbreaking.

**My audience with the Oracle was over. **

**"Well?" Chiron asked me. **

**I slumped into a chair at the pinochle table. "She said I would retrieve what was stolen."**

Hera shakes her head slowly and says sadly, "You'll have to relate what it said exactly, child."

**Grover sat forward, chewing excitedly on the remains of a Diet Coke can. "That's great!"**

"Prophecies have double meanings," Apollo cautions.

**"What did the Oracle say **_**exactly**_**?" Chiron pressed. "This is important."**

"Very," agrees Athena.

**My ears were still tingling from the reptilian voice. "She . .. She said I would go west and face a god who had turned. I would retrieve what was stolen and see it safely returned."**

"It's an it," corrects Hestia gently.

**"I knew it," Grover said. **

"Of course he did," snaps Zeus.

**Chiron didn't look satisfied. "Anything else?"**

**I didn't want to tell him. **

**What friend would betray me? I didn't have that many. **

Annabeth winces.

Jason smiles smugly.

**And the last line - I would fail to save what mattered most. What kind of Oracle would send me on a quest and tell me, **_**Oh, by the way, you'll fail**_**.**

"Mine, apparently," Apollo remarks.

**How could I confess that?**

**"No, " I said. "That's about it."**

"Don't lie to Chiron," Demeter scolds. "If he wasn't going on that quest, I'd probably pluck him right out of that camp and put him behind a plow and feed him some good cereal to build his character- and omit the lying."

"Mad woman," Hades mutters.

**He studied my face. "Very well, Percy. But know this: the Oracle's words often have double meanings. Don't dwell on them too much. The truth is not always clear until events come to pass."**

"Because only I have the awesome power to do that," brags Apollo.

**I got the feeling he knew I was holding back something bad, and he was trying to make me feel better. **

"Chiron is very perceptive," agrees Hera.

**"Okay," I said, anxious to change topics. "So where do I go? Who's this god in the west?"**

Realization dawns not only on Hades, but on his younger brother and wife as well.

Poseidon looks at him murderously and Persephone looks at him almost pityingly.

**"Ah, think, Percy, " Chiron said. "If Zeus and Poseidon weaken each other in a war, who stands to gain?"**

Athena begins to understand now as well.

**"Somebody else who wants to take over?" I guessed. **

"He has something in that head of his besides seaweed," grins Annabeth.

**"Yes, quite. Someone who harbors a grudge, **

Nico flinches, remembering how Bianca had told him that holding grudges was a fatal flaw for children of Hades.

**who has been unhappy with his lot since the world was divided eons ago, whose kingdom would grow powerful with the deaths of millions. **

"And now they blame me," Hades says miserably.

"You deserve it," Demeter snaps. "Kidnapping my daughter like that!"

"I thought you got over that a few chapters ago, Mother," groans Persephone, but her eyes never leave her husband. "Can't you see my lord is miserable? Leave him alone."

**Someone who hates his brothers for forcing him into an oath to have no more children, an oath that both of them have now broken."**

"A fact I find ironic," Athena comments.

"Am I that untrustworthy?" Hades demands.

Nobody looks at him.

**I thought about my dreams, the evil voice that had spoken from under the ground. "Hades."**

**Chiron nodded. "The Lord of the Dead is the only possibility."**

"Only?" repeats Hades. "I am _not_ the _only_ possibility! These other dimwits are bigger possibilities!"

**A scrap of aluminum dribbled out of Grover's mouth. "Whoa, wait. Wh-what?"**

**"A Fury came after Percy," Chiron reminded him. "She watched the young man until she was sure of his identity, then tried to kill him. Furies obey only one lord: Hades."**

"And their queen," Hades corrects.

Persephone smiles at him, grateful for his inclusion.

Poseidon smiles softly at his niece. Perhaps she would feel better soon.

**"Yes, but-but Hades hates all heroes, " Grover protested. "Especially if he has found out Percy is a son of Poseidon... ."**

**"A hellhound got into the forest," Chiron continued. "Those can only be summoned from the Fields of Punishment, and it had to be summoned by someone within the camp. Hades must have a spy here. He must suspect Poseidon will try to use Percy to clear his name. Hades would very much like to kill this young half-blood before he can take on the quest."**

"That will ease Percy's nightmares, Chiron, thanks," Katie says, stopping her reading.

"Cereal will mend him," Demeter says matter-of-factly.

"SHUT UP, DEMETER!"

**"Great," I muttered. "That's two major gods who want to kill me."**

"Of the Big Three too," Clarisse says. "Wow, I might actually admire Prissy for bringing such an incredible war."

**"But a quest to ..." Grover swallowed. "I mean, couldn't the master bolt be in some place like Maine? Maine's very nice this time of year."**

"Only Grover," chuckles Thalia.

**"Hades sent a minion to steal the master bolt, " Chiron insisted. **

"Glad to know Chiron's fully on my side," Hades remarks dryly.

"**He hid it in the Underworld, knowing full well that Zeus would blame Poseidon. I don't pretend to understand the Lord of the Dead's motives perfectly, or why he chose this time to start a war, but one thing is certain. Percy must go to the Underworld, find the master bolt, and reveal the truth."**

**A strange fire burned in my stomach. **

"Aw, is Prissy _scared_?" Ares mocks.

**The weirdest thing was: it wasn't fear. It was anticipation. The desire for revenge. Hades had tried to kill me three times so far, with the Fury, the Minotaur, and the hellhound. **

"Percy with the desire for revenge? That can't be good," Reyna says.

**It was his fault my mother had disappeared in a flash of light. Now he was trying to frame me and my dad for a theft we hadn't committed. **

Poseidon grins. "Maybe he doesn't resent me _that_ much."

"He doesn't, Lord Poseidon," Annabeth assures him. "He loves you. You are his father after all."

**I was ready to take him on. **

Hades leers at the book. "Try."

Remembering the scene after Percy decided to listen to him, Nico chuckles. Everyone looks at him, but he waves at Katie to continue reading.

**Besides, if my mother was in the Underworld ... **

"Percy with the desire for revenge and the loss of a loved one? Unstoppable," Will says quietly, so that only the demigods in the semicircle could hear.

**Whoa, boy, said the small part of my brain that was still sane.**

"There's a sane part in Percy's brain?" gasps Travis.

**You're a kid. Hades is a god. **

_That didn't stop him,_ Nico thinks, smiling.

**Grover was trembling. He'd started eating pinochle cards like potato chips. **

"Satyrs have eccentric food tastes," Aphrodite comments.

**The poor guy needed to complete a quest with me so he could get his searcher's license, whatever that was, but how could I ask him to do this quest, especially when the Oracle said I was destined to fail? This was suicide. **

"Everything in Percy's life is suicide, isn't it?" Frank jokes.

**"Look, if we know it's Hades, " I told Chiron, "why can't we just tell the other gods? Zeus or Poseidon could go down to the Underworld and bust some heads."**

Hades rolls his eyes. "Bust some heads in _my_ domain? Even with their, er, extensive powers, they couldn't do a thing to me while I am in my domain."

"Nice to know, brother," Zeus tells him, his eyes glinting.

**"Suspecting and knowing are not the same, " Chiron said. "Besides, even if the other gods suspect Hades - and I imagine Poseidon does – **

"Just so he won't take the blame," mutters Hades.

"Calm down, my lord," Persephone murmurs across the gods' semicircle. "I'm sure nothing terrible will happen."

**they couldn't retrieve the bolt themselves. Gods cannot cross each other's territories except by invitation. That is another ancient rule. Heroes, on the other hand, have certain privileges. **

"Privileges? More like suicide opportunities!" Hazel cries.

**They can go anywhere, challenge anyone, as long as they're bold enough and strong enough to do it. No god can be held responsible for a hero's actions. **

"Which is why I can't blame any of these halfwits," grumbles Hera. "And that sucks."

**Why do you think the gods ****always operate through humans?"**

**"You're saying I'm being used."**

"The soldiers/slaves of Kronos would have said, 'just like the rest of us'," Nico whispers to Annabeth and Thalia.

The girls nod sadly.

**"I'm saying it's no accident Poseidon has claimed you now. It's a very risky gamble, but he's in a desperate situation. He needs you."**

**My dad needs me. **

**Emotions rolled around inside me like bits of glass in a kaleidoscope. I didn't know whether to feel resentful or grateful or happy or angry. Poseidon had ignored me for twelve years. Now suddenly he needed me. **

Poseidon cringes. "That's the… er, _bad_ way of putting it."

**I looked at Chiron. "You've known I was Poseidon's son all along, haven't you?"**

**"I had my suspicions. As I said ... I've spoken to the Oracle, too."**

**I got the feeling there was a lot he wasn't telling me about his prophecy, but I decided I couldn't worry about that right now.**

"Not with all that hanging over your head, you can't," Poseidon agrees.

**After all, I was holding back information too. **

**"So let me get this straight, " I said. "I'm supposed go to the Underworld and confront the Lord of the Dead."**

"And now he lists the things he needs to do, making it seem a whole lot more dramatic," Jason says, groaning.

"He's not a child of Zeus or Jupiter. He's not as dramatic as they are," Poseidon informs him. He looks at Hades. "Am I correct in remembering that several of his children from ancient and slightly more recent times went a long way in theater?"

**"Check," Chiron said. **

**"Find the most powerful weapon in the universe."**

**"Check."**

**"And get it back to Olympus before the summer solstice, in ten days."**

**"That's about right."**

"See?" Jason grumbles.

**I looked at Grover, who gulped down the ace of hearts. **

"Very tasty," Connor nods.

**"Did I mention that Maine is very nice this time of year?" he asked weakly.**

"Nice try, Grover," chuckles Frank.

**"You don't have to go, " I told him. "I can't ask that of you." **

"Such a sweet boy," Hera compliments.

"Maybe I'll tone down on the farming and cereal," Demeter says in way of agreement.

**"Oh ... " He shifted his hooves. "No ... It's just that satyrs and underground places ... Well..."**

**He took a deep breath, then stood, brushing the shredded cards and aluminum bits off his T-shirt. "You saved my life, Percy. If ... If you're serious about wanting me along, I won't let you down."**

**I felt so relieved I wanted to cry, though I didn't think that would be very heroic. Grover was the only friend I'd ever had for longer than a few months. I wasn't sure what good a satyr could do against the forces of the dead, but I felt better knowing he'd be with me. **

"He could use his music," Dionysus says.

"Did you just say something logical?" Rachel asks him.

"Shut up, Oracle brat."

"Don't call my Oracle a brat!"

**"All the way, G-man." **

"He's such a good friend," coos Aphrodite. "And maybe an even better boyfriend!"

**I turned to Chiron. "So where do we go? The Oracle just said to go west."**

**"The entrance to the Underworld is always in the west. It moves from age to age, just like Olympus. Right now, of course, it's in America."**

"No duh. So is Olympus," Hazel says.

Hades would scold his Roman daughter, but 1) he isn't fatherly that way, and 2) he isn't very happy with Chiron at the moment, at least not happy enough to defend the old centaur.

**"Where?"**

**Chiron looked surprised. "I thought that would be obvious enough. The entrance to the Underworld is in Los Angeles."**

"HOLLAY-WOOD!" yells Apollo, grinning.

"Apollo?" Artemis asks sweetly.

Apollo rolls his eyes. "I know what you're going to say. You're going to say I am absolutely _loco_."

"No," Artemis replies. "I was going to say the only place you belong is the mental institute. And we aren't in Spain or Mexico or any other Spanish-speaking country. _Duh hermano, poco_!" (Duh, little brother!)

"_Yo no soy tu hermano pequeño_!" Apollo protests. (I'm not your little brother!)

"So you're fluent in Spanish? I won't ask," Hazel mutters.

"We spent a century or two in Spain," Hades explains to her.

"_Cállate, ustedes dos, por lo que podemos leer_!" Zeus snaps at them. (Be quiet, you two, so we can read!)

**"Oh," I said. "Naturally. So we just get on a plane-"**

Poseidon groans. "No! What are you _thinking_? You're my child! And Zeus would probably blast you out of the sky!"

**"No!" Grover shrieked. "Percy, what are you thinking? Have you ever been on a plane in your life?"**

**I shook my head, feeling embarrassed. My mom had never taken me anywhere by plane. She'd always said we didn't have the money. Besides, her parents had died in a plane crash. **

Poseidon glares at Zeus. "Your fault."

"You didn't even _know_ Sally then!" Zeus protests.

"You consulted Apollo or something."

**"Percy, think," **

"Shouldn't even be in the same sentence," grins Thalia.

"Prissy? Think? That's like telling him to fight properly," Clarisse says.

"He can fight, Clarisse. He beat you. Numerous times," Annabeth reminds her.

**Chiron said. "You are the son of the Sea God. Your father's bitterest rival is Zeus, Lord of the Sky. Your mother knew better than to trust you in an airplane. You would be in Zeus's domain. You would never come down again alive."**

Annabeth chuckles. _Oh, but he did. _

**Overhead, lightning crackled. Thunder boomed. **

"I agree," announces Zeus.

"Yeah, that should flatter him. Inflate his ego, even," Poseidon replies.

**"Okay," I said, determined not to look at the storm. "So, I'll travel overland."**

**"That's right," Chiron said. "Two companions may accompany you. Grover is one. The other has already volunteered, if you will accept her help."**

Athena begins to smile.

**"Gee," I said, feigning surprise. "Who else would be stupid enough to volunteer for a quest like this?"**

"Stupid?" asks Annabeth.

"Kids at camp would _die_ for a chance to go out into the real world," Clarisse snaps at book-Percy.

Poseidon looks at her. "Literally _die_, I'm taking it. Since these quests are life-threatening."

**The air shimmered behind Chiron. **

**Annabeth became visible, stuffing her Yankees cap into her back pocket. **

Athena's smile is now spread all the way across her face.

**"I've been waiting a long time for a quest, seaweed brain," she said. "Athena is no fan of Poseidon, but if you're going to save the world, I'm the best person to keep you from messing up."**

"That's right," says Athena. "Your sea spawn better not wreck my daughter's chance to prove herself, Kelp-for-Brains!"

Poseidon scoffs. "_My_ son wreck _your_ daughter's chance to prove herself? I don't think so, Owl Droppings!"

Athena glares at him. "Owl Droppings?"

"At least I don't use the same thing over and over again," Poseidon snaps.

**"If you do say so yourself," I said. "I suppose you have a plan, wise girl?"**

Athena nods. "No duh. Athena always has a plan."

Annabeth shifts.

**Her cheeks colored. **

The Goddess of Wisdom gapes at her daughter. "You _don't_ have a plan?"

"Not yet!" Annabeth defends.

**"Do you want my help or not?"**

"Oh, if he didn't have it, we'd all be dead. Because he'd be dead," Thalia whispers to Annabeth, who grins.

**The truth was, I did. I needed all the help I could get. **

**"A trio," I said. "That'll work."**

Rachel nods. "A trio is always best."

**"Excellent," Chiron said. "This afternoon, we can take you as far as the bus terminal in Manhattan. After that, you are on your own."**

"Isn't that cheerful?" a pretty cheerful Apollo inquires.

**Lightning flashed. Rain poured down on the meadows that were never supposed to have violent weather. **

Demeter looks concerned. "That won't bode well. Maybe I should visit every once in a while to make sure that the meadow and crops will be strong enough for unexpected storms like these."

Katie almost drops the book in excitement. "Would you really, Mother? My half-siblings and I would be thrilled! We never get to see you."

Her mother smiles at her. "You know what? I think maybe I will."

**"No time to waste," Chiron said. "I think you should all get packing."**

Katie closes the book after slipping in the newly instated bookmark to mark their page. "That's the end of the chapter. So Apollo, Persephone, Lady Hera, Athena, Annabeth, Clarisse, Hazel, Reyna, and I have read. Who would like to read next?"

"I would like to," Hestia volunteers, "if no one minds, of course."

Her relatives smile kindly at her. Hestia never intervened on their, er, family spats, and they had high respect for the Goddess of the Hearth.

"Of course we don't, Lady Hestia," Persephone answers with her own warm smile. "Be our guest."

The oldest child of Kronos and Rhea smiles in return at her niece and stands, shrinking to her eight-year-old form. She walks over to the demigod semicircle, smiling kindly at each in turn, and finally stops in front of Katie.

"May I have the book, child?" she asks softly.

The daughter of Demeter beams at her aunt. "Of course, Lady Hestia."

Once Hestia is again settled in her throne at god size, everyone also relaxes, and will hopefully stay that way for the next chapter.

x.o.x.o.x.

A/N: I am overwhelmed by the amount of reviews I've already gotten! Thank you so much for those! I know that you all want Percy, but I've already planned a place to put him in. You'll see. ;) Oh, and if you're a fan of Persephone and Hades, you might want to check out a one-shot I wrote called _I Believed_. It's on my profile if you want to see. Until next time, I love you all!


	11. I Ruin a Perfectly Good Bus

A/N: I love writing this story, lol! Which is why this is up a day after the last one was up… and I've been slacking off my other stories. Oh well, I'll catch up. Hopefully. In the meantime, enjoy!

x.o.x.o.x.

**I Ruin a Perfectly Good Bus,** Hestia starts.

"Sounds just like Percy," Travis chuckles.

**It didn't take me long to pack. I decided to leave the Minotaur horn in my cabin, **

"Good idea. He'd have no need for the Minotaur horn on the quest," Athena comments.

**which left me only an extra change of clothes and a toothbrush to stuff in a backpack Grover had found for me. **

"Found? Or _stole_?" Hermes asks cleverly, his eyes glinting.

"I'm pretty sure Grover _found_ it, Lord Hermes. He's not your son," Annabeth assures him.

"I don't have satyrs as children!" Hermes argues, outraged.

"Actually, you do," Athena reminded him. "Pan?"

"Oh."

**The camp store loaned me one hundred dollars in mortal money and twenty golden drachmas. These coins were as big as Girl Scout cookies and had images of various Greek gods stamped on one side and the Empire State Building on the other. The ancient mortal drachmas had been silver, Chiron told us, but Olympians never used less than pure gold. **

"Of course we never use less than pure gold! Why use anything else when you can have gold?" Zeus demands indignantly.

Nico rolls his eyes. "Excuse me for saying this, Lord Zeus, but not everyone is as rich as an immortal Olympian god or goddess. Some people can't even _imagine_ having pure gold in their hands."

**Chiron said the coins might come in handy for non-mortal transactions - whatever that meant. He gave Annabeth and me each a canteen of nectar and a Ziploc bag full of ambrosia squares, to be used only in emergencies, if we were seriously hurt.**

"That's the awesome thing about being a demigod," Will says. "If we're injured, just eat some ambrosia or drink some nectar!"

"The downside, though, is that if you eat too much, you burn into ashes," Thalia reminds him.

"Just a slight downside," Connor agrees.

**It was god food, Chiron reminded us. It would cure us of almost any injury, but it was lethal to mortals. Too much of it would make a half-blood very, very feverish. An overdose would burn us up, literally. **

**Annabeth was bringing her magic Yankees cap, which she told me had been a twelfth-birthday present from her mom. **

Athena nods proudly. "That is a very good cap. You've been taking care of it well?" she asks Annabeth.

Her daughter smiles and pulls out the Yankees cap. "Of course I have, Mother. We all guard and care for our gifts from our godly parent with our lives."

**She carried a book on famous classical architecture, written in Ancient Greek, to read when she got bored, **

"Bored on your first quest?" gasps Piper. "Is that possible? We had so many things to do on _our_ first quest; it was all action-packed and no downtime."

Annabeth shrugs. "You know me, Piper. I always like to be prepared."

**and a long bronze knife, hidden in her shirt sleeve. I was sure the knife would get us busted the first time we went through a metal detector. **

"Isn't there a metal detector in the Empire State Building?" Zeus asks.

Rolling her eyes upward, Artemis replies, "No, Father. Mortals can just go up to the observation deck without going through security."

Zeus's eyes light up. "_Really_?"

"NO!"

**Grover wore his fake feet and his pants to pass as human. He wore a green rasta-style cap, because when it rained his curly hair flattened and you could just see the tips of his horns. His bright orange backpack was full of scrap metal and apples to snack on. **

"He was the one to eat the scrap metal, I bet," Frank says.

"Nope, I did," Annabeth replies with a completely straight face.

Athena looks disgusted. "You ate scrap metal?"

The entire council burst into laughter, except for Hestia, who simply smiles gently, as well as the demigods.

"Of course I didn't, Mother! Do you take me to be a fool?" Annabeth asks, mirth clear in her eyes.

"What did you do with the scrap metal then? WAGE WAR?" demands Ares.

Annabeth's eyes go upward. "Yes, Lord Ares, we waged war using scraps of metal." _Actually, Grover threw them at Furies._

**In his pocket was a set of reed pipes his daddy goat had carved for him, even though he only knew two songs: Mozart's Piano Concerto no. 12 and Hilary Duff's "So Yesterday," both of which sounded pretty bad on reed pipes. **

Trying to stifle her laughter, Katie comments, "Good thing Grover isn't here. He'd be bleating his lungs out."

**We waved good-bye to the other campers, took one last look at the strawberry fields, the ocean, and the Big House, then hiked up Half-Blood Hill to the tall pine tree that used to be Thalia, daughter of Zeus. **

Thalia grumbles, "At least he didn't say Thalia _Grace_. I'd rather be Thalia, daughter of Zeus than Thalia Grace."

Poseidon chuckles. "You hated your mother enough to want to be acknowledged as _his_ daughter?"

As her father scowls, Thalia smiles and replies, "Maybe I _should_ reconsider…"

**Chiron was waiting for us in his wheelchair. Next to him stood the surfer dude I'd seen when I was recovering in the sick room. According to Grover, the guy was the camp's head of security. He supposedly had eyes all over his body so he could never be surprised. **

Persephone shivers. "Is it just me or is that _really_ creepy?"

Aphrodite shudders as well. "It's not just you, Sephie. That is very disturbing. At least I've never actually _seen _it."

**Today, though, he was wearing a chauffeur's uniform, so I could only see extra peepers on his hands, face and neck. **

"Still not too comforting," mutters Demeter.

"Oh, I'm sure Argus is a perfectly nice man," Hestia chastises her nieces and sister. "Don't judge him by his appearance."

"This is why I love Lady Hestia," Katie whispers to the others.

Clarisse scowls. "Nah, my dad is the best. Lady Hestia is too calm and peaceful, the opposite of my favorite thing- WAR!"

**"This is Argus," Chiron told me. "He will drive you into the city, and, er, well, keep an eye on things."**

"Terrible pun," Apollo says. "My haikus are so much better!"

"Puns are always terrible, Apollo," Athena tells him. Then she adds under her breath, "Like your haikus."

**I heard footsteps behind us. **

**Luke came running up the hill, carrying a pair of basketball shoes. **

Hermes grins. "My shoes!"

"You have, like, a thousand replicas of them, Hermes," Artemis says, rolling her eyes.

"So? They're still my special shoes!"

**"Hey!" he panted. "Glad I caught you."**

**Annabeth blushed, the way she always did when Luke was around. **

"I do _not_!" Annabeth protests.

"Anymore," Thalia teases. "Now you blush whenever Percy's around."

"I do _not_!" Annabeth repeats.

"Whatever you say, Annie," replies Connor, laughing.

"DON'T CALL ME ANNIE!"

"You're a lot like your mother," Nico continues.

"SHUT UP!" Athena and Annabeth both yell.

"Yeah, I don't blame you for not wanting that, Annabeth. Your mother's thoughts are a terrible way to think," Poseidon adds.

"SHUT IT, KELP FACE!"

**"Just wanted to say good luck," Luke told me. "And I thought ... Um, maybe you could use these."**

**He handed me the sneakers, which looked pretty normal. They even smelled kind of normal. **

"Of course they did! I take good care of my shoes, and I make sure my kids do too!" Hermes declares irritably. "They won't stink like a sixth-grade boy's sneakers would!"

**Luke said, "Maia!"**

Zeus grins, looking at Hermes. "You use your mother's name to activate your shoes?"

"Yep," answers Hermes. "Why wouldn't I? She's my mom."

Hera's lip curls, as it always does when one of Zeus's lovers enters the conversation.

**White bird's wings sprouted out of the heels, startling me so much, I dropped them. The shoes flapped around on the ground until the wings folded up and disappeared. **

**"Awesome!" Grover said. **

Poseidon, however, frowns, not agreeing with Grover's statement. "It's _not_ awesome. Percy can't fly, even using Hermes's shoes. He'd still be in the air. What was Luke thinking?"

"He's trying to be nice!" Hermes defends his son.

"Or trying to get Percy killed," Travis mumbles.

**Luke smiled. "Those served me well when I was on my quest. Gift****from Dad. Of course, I don't use them much these days... " His expression turned sad. **

**I didn't know what to say. It was cool enough that Luke had come to say good-bye. I'd been afraid he might resent me for getting so much attention the last few days. But here he was giving me a magic gift... It made me blush almost as much as Annabeth. **

"I didn't know Percy swung that way," Frank teases.

**"Hey, man," I said. "Thanks."**

**"Listen, Percy..." Luke looked uncomfortable. "A lot of hopes are riding on you. So just ... Kill some monsters for me, okay?"**

"Does Luke swing that way too?" chimes in Leo, his eyes twinkling with laughter.

"Oh, poor Annabeth!" laments Connor. "Her two crushes won't be hers at all… they'll be _each others'_!"

Aphrodite begins to get a glint in her own eyes. "That would make for an interesting love triangle! Maybe I should…"

"Aphrodite! Are you crazy? No!" Hephaestus tells her.

His wife pouts. "Why not?"

"You don't need to go around ruining these kids' lives. They have a lot more going on," Hephaestus reminds her.

"Fine."

**We shook hands. Luke patted Grover's head between his horns, then gave a good-bye hug to Annabeth, who looked like she might pass out. **

"That wouldn't be good. But wait! Luke doesn't like you anyway! He _lurrrrrrrves_ Percy!" Travis teases, laughing.

Annabeth groans. "Shut up, Travie."

"Don't call me Travie!"

**After Luke was gone, I told her, "You're hyperventilating."**

**"Am not."**

**"You let him capture the flag instead of you, didn't you?"**

"Ooh, caught in the act!" Leo teases.

**"Oh ... Why do I want to go anywhere with you, Percy?"**

"That's a yes. BUSTED!" yells Connor.

**She stomped down the other side of the hill, where a white SUV waited on the shoulder of the road. Argus followed, jingling his car keys.**

**I picked up the flying shoes and had a sudden bad feeling. I looked at Chiron. "I won't be able to use these, will I?"**

"Wow, he actually figured it out?" Jason asks.

Finally fed up, Annabeth stands and towers over the sitting Jason. "Will you stop insulting my boyfriend? You don't even _know_ him and you're already belittling him! Where's the Jason we all know? Because you definitely aren't him!"

Jason shrinks back, afraid of the angry daughter of Athena.

"She's right, you know, Jason," Reyna speaks up. "I work alongside Percy and he isn't a bad person or hero. You should at least meet him first and _then_ we won't be so hard on you about being jealous of him."

Piper shakes her head at him. "I don't know Percy, but like we've all told you, he sounds like a nice guy and I want to meet him. You shouldn't belittle him before meeting and getting to know him, Jason."

"We've all already told you this stuff, but you just won't listen. It isn't wise," Annabeth adds.

**He shook his head. "Luke meant well, Percy. But taking to the air ... That would not be wise for you."**

Travis snorts. "Yup, he meant well."

**I nodded, disappointed, but then I got an idea. "Hey, Grover. You want a magic item?"**

**His eyes lit up. "Me?"**

The goddesses all look delighted (except Artemis, who dislikes males, and Athena, who dislikes sea spawn).

"Your son is such a good friend, Poseidon," Hera compliments.

Hestia smiles. "He is very loyal. That is a good trait in young people."

**Pretty soon we'd laced the sneakers over his fake feet, and the world's first flying goat boy was ready for launch. **

**"Maia!" he shouted. **

**He got off the ground okay, but then fell over sideways so his backpack dragged through the grass. The winged shoes kept bucking up and down like tiny broncos. **

"**Practice," Chiron called after him. "You just need practice!"**

"Or you can call me, Chiron! I can train him!" Hermes suggests.

"Hermes, they're about to leave on their quest," snaps Athena. "_Sure_, they have enough time for you to float down there and train a satyr on how to use your precious shoes."

Completely missing the sarcasm, Hermes beams at her. "Exactly what I was thinking!"

"**Aaaaa!" Grover went flying sideways down the hill like a possessed lawn mower, heading toward the van. **

**Before I could follow, Chiron caught my arm. "I should have trained you better, Percy," he said. "If only I had more time. Hercules, Jason - they all got more training."**

"I did," agrees Jason.

"The _original_ Jason, you quarter-wit!" Annabeth snaps at him.

**"That's okay. I just wish-"**

**I stopped myself because I was about to sound like a brat. I was wishing my dad had given me a cool magic item to help on the quest, something as good as Luke's flying shoes, or Annabeth's invisible cap. **

"That's not sounding like a brat," Hestia says quietly, pausing her reading. "It is perfectly natural."

"And if I know Chiron, Perseus _will_ be getting an item," Poseidon adds.

**"What am I thinking?" Chiron cried. "I can't let you get away without this."**

Annabeth grins. Riptide.

**He pulled a pen from his coat pocket and handed it to me. It was an ordinary disposable ballpoint, black ink, removable cap. Probably cost thirty cents. **

Poseidon grins as well. "It didn't cost thirty cents."

**"Gee, " I said. "Thanks."**

**"Percy, that's a gift from your father. I've kept it for years, not knowing you were who I was waiting for. But the prophecy is clear to me now. You are the one."**

**I remembered the field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, when I'd vaporized Mrs. Dodds. Chiron had thrown me a pen that turned into a sword. Could this be...?**

Poseidon nods. "It is. _Anaklusmos_."

**I took off the cap, and the pen grew longer and heavier in my hand. In half a second, I held a shimmering bronze sword with a double-edged blade, a leather-wrapped grip, and a flat hilt riveted with gold studs. **

"Dude! That's even cooler than Jason's weapon!" exclaims Leo.

Jason turns to glare at him.

"It is!" defends Leo.

"I won't say anything, since it's natural to feel defensive of your own weapon," mutters Reyna.

**It was the first weapon that actually felt balanced in my hand. **

**"The sword has a long and tragic history that we need not go into," Chiron told me. "Its name is **_**Anaklusmos**_**."**

**"'Riptide, '" I translated, surprised the Ancient Greek came so easily. **

"His brain is hardwired for Ancient Greek; of course it came easily," Athena says exasperatedly.

**"Use it only for emergencies," Chiron said, "and only against monsters. No hero should harm mortals unless absolutely necessary, of course, but this sword wouldn't harm them in any case."**

"Celestial bronze," Poseidon nods.

**I looked at the wickedly sharp blade. "What do you mean it wouldn't harm mortals? How could it not?"**

"Celestial bronze is not fatal to mortals. It wouldn't even give them a cut," Athena explains.

"We know, we know!" Hermes shouts.

**"The sword is celestial bronze. Forged by the Cyclopes, tempered in the heart of Mount Etna, cooled in the River Lethe. It's deadly to monsters, to any creature from the Underworld, provided they don't kill you first. **

"Isn't that a pleasant thought?" asks Thalia.

**But the blade will pass through mortals like an illusion. They simply are not important enough for the blade to kill. **

Hestia stops, looking mildly indignant. "Mortals aren't important enough? Without them, we would fade into nothingness. We could never live without them worshipping or learning about us. I'd say that they are very important."

"And the women are _ho-ot_!" cheers Apollo.

**And I should warn you: as a demigod, you can be killed by either celestial or normal weapons. You are twice as vulnerable."**

"Chiron sure knows how to boost one's confidence before going off on a quest," Nico remarks, rolling his eyes.

**"Good to know."**

**"Now recap the pen."**

**I touched the pen cap to the sword tip and instantly Riptide shrank to a ballpoint pen again. I tucked it in my pocket, a little nervous, because I was famous for losing pens at school. **

"Impossible to lose it," Poseidon says. "It's magical that way. It will always come back to you."

**"You can't," Chiron said. **

**"Can't what?"**

**"Lose the pen," he said. "It is enchanted. It will always reappear in your pocket. Try it."**

**I was wary, **

"Why? It _is_ Chiron's front end telling you this," Travis says.

"At least, we _hope_ so," Connor adds.

**but I threw the pen as far as I could down the hill and watched it disappear in the grass. **

"So not very far?" Hazel questions teasingly.

**"It may take a few moments, " Chiron told me. "Now check your pocket."**

**Sure enough, the pen was there. **

**"Okay, that's extremely cool," I admitted. "But what if a mortal sees me pulling out a sword?"**

Athena sighs in exasperation. "The _Mist_, you stupid sea spawn, the _Mist_!"

"Don't call my son stupid," Poseidon snaps.

"My mother always taught me not to lie," Athena retorts.

"Your mother was swallowed by Zeus," Poseidon returns, rolling his eyes.

Annabeth chuckles. "There's been a lot of eye rolling going on lately."

**Chiron smiled. "Mist is a powerful thing, Percy."**

**"Mist?"**

"**Yes. Read **_**The Iliad**_**. It's full of references to the stuff. **

"Homer divulged a lot of stuff about us," Apollo groans. "I liked having a little privacy."

**Whenever divine or monstrous elements mix with the mortal world, they generate Mist, which obscures the vision of humans. You will see things just as they are, being a half-blood, but humans will interpret things quite differently. Remarkable, really, the lengths to which humans will go to fit things into their version of reality."**

"Ignorant," murmurs Hera. "Especially the women." She glares pointedly at her husband.

**I put Riptide back in my pocket. **

**For the first time, the quest felt real. I was actually leaving Half-Blood Hill. I was heading west with no adult supervision, no backup plan, not even a cell phone. (Chiron said cell phones were traceable by monsters; if we used one, it would be worse than sending up a flare.) I had no weapon stronger than a sword to fight off monsters and reach the Land of the Dead. **

Hades chuckles sinisterly. "I wonder what I'll do to him."

Poseidon glares at his brother.

"B-before Poseidon shows up," Hades corrects quickly.

**"Chiron..." I said. "When you say the gods are immortal... I mean, there was a time before them, right?"**

All the gods and goddesses wince.

"Four ages," Athena informs the room as a whole.

**"Four ages before them, actually. The Time of the Titans was the Fourth Age, sometimes called the Golden Age, which is definitely a misnomer. This, the time of Western civilization and the rule of Zeus, is the Fifth Age."**

"Which will be the longest," promises Zeus.

"If you don't destroy each other first," Hestia murmurs.

Hearing her, Persephone smiles. "You're right, Lady Hestia. They are magnets for quarrels and wars, aren't they?"

Hestia smiles back at her. "Yes," she agrees. "Must be Ares prompting them."

**"So what was it like ... Before the gods?"**

"It was bad," Hermes says.

**Chiron pursed his lips. "Even I am not old enough to remember that, child, but I know it was a time of darkness and savagery for mortals. Kronos, the lord of the Titans, called his reign the Golden Age because men lived innocent and free of all knowledge. **

"Ha! Innocent and free of all knowledge? Kronos is crazy," Artemis spits.

"So unladylike of you, sis, to _spit_!" Apollo gleefully scolds her.

**But that was mere propaganda. The Titan king cared nothing for your kind except as appetizers or a source of cheap entertainment. **

"Which is sick," Hestia comments.

"Just as sick as when he ate his own children," mutters Demeter, gagging.

"His stomach was a terrible place to be," Hades says.

"Worse than your Underworld? I doubt it!" Guess who said that?

**It was only in the early reign of Lord Zeus, when Prometheus the good Titan brought fire to mankind, that your species began to progress, and even then Prometheus was branded a radical thinker. Zeus punished him severely, as you may recall. **

"So Prometheus gave us fire and you punished him," Thalia states to her father.

Zeus nods.

"Logical," Thalia sarcastically voices.

**Of course, eventually the gods warmed to humans, and Western civilization was born."**

**"But the gods can't die now, right? I mean, as long as Western civilization is alive, they're alive. So... Even if I failed, nothing could happen so bad it would mess up everything, right?"**

"Actually… their war could destroy humankind," Athena contradicts.

Poseidon looks at her. "He's reassuring himself, you olive oddball."

**Chiron gave me a melancholy smile. "No one knows how long the Age of the West will last, Percy. The gods are immortal, yes. But then, so were the Titans. **

"They still _are_ immortal. Just not… er, working," Demeter says.

**They still exist, locked away in their various prisons, forced to endure endless pain and punishment, reduced in power, but still very much alive. **

"Unfortunately," adds Hephaestus.

"And I have to guard them day in and day out," grumbles Hades. "It's annoying having Kronos ask you for cookies and milk 24/7, you know."

"You're not there now," points out Aphrodite.

"Kronos asks you for milk and cookies? Is he Santa Claus or something?" Hermes asks.

"That originated from me!" argues Artemis.

**May the Fates forbid that the gods should ever suffer such a doom, or that we should ever return to the darkness and chaos of the past. **

"Thank you, Chiron, for wishing that we'd never be overthrown by our children and then thrown into Tartarus to enjoy our lovely parents' company," Hera says.

**All we can do, child, is follow our destiny."**

**"Our destiny... Assuming we know what that is."**

"Of course you do! Just ask my Oracle!" Apollo cheerfully suggests.

**"Relax," Chiron told me. "Keep a clear head. And remember, you may be about to prevent the biggest war in human history."**

"That'll help him to relax, Chiron," Annabeth remarks sarcastically.

**"Relax, " I said. "I'm very relaxed."**

"SARCASM!" calls out Leo.

"Yeah, there's been a lot of that going on lately, Leo, haven't you noticed?" Piper replies.

**When I got to the bottom of the hill, I looked back. Under the pine tree that used to be Thalia, daughter of Zeus, Chiron was now standing in full horse-man form, holding his bow high in salute. Just your typical summer-camp send-off by your typical centaur. **

"Yup, perfectly normal," agrees Rachel. "I did that all the time during my summer camps."

"Really?" asks an awed Leo.

"No," snaps Rachel. "I watched the other girls go through rituals that supposedly turn them into 'proper young ladies of society'."

**Argus drove us out of the countryside and into western Long Island. It felt weird to be on a highway again, Annabeth and Grover sitting next to me as if we were normal carpoolers. After two weeks at Half-Blood Hill, the real world seemed like a fantasy. I found myself staring at every McDonald's, every kid in the back of his parents' car, every billboard and shopping mall.**

"Paranoid much?" snorts Clarisse.

**"So far so good," I told Annabeth. "Ten miles and not a single monster."**

"JINX!" yell Apollo and Hermes.

**She gave me an irritated look. "It's bad luck to talk that way, seaweed brain."**

"See? Annabeth agrees!" Hermes cheers.

**"Remind me again - why do you hate me so much?"**

"Oh, Percy," Travis says wickedly, "you have a lot to learn. Annabeth doesn't hate you."

"At all," Connor adds, chuckling.

**"I don't hate you."**

**"Could've fooled me."**

**She folded her cap of invisibility. "Look ... We're just not supposed to get along, okay? Our parents are rivals."**

"Glad to see you have some sense left in you, daughter," Athena clips.

**"Why?"**

**She sighed. "How many reasons do you want? One time my mom caught Poseidon with his girlfriend in Athena's temple, which is **_**hugely**_** disrespectful. **

"That scarred me badly," groans Athena, rubbing her eyes.

"She was _not_ my girlfriend!" protests Poseidon.

Zeus looks at him, raising an eyebrow. "Then what was she?"

"My lover!" Poseidon answers.

"Big difference," mutters Hades.

**Another time, Athena and Poseidon competed to be the patron god for the city of Athens. Your dad created some stupid saltwater spring for his gift. **

"It was not stupid," Poseidon sighs. "What would they do if they ran out of water and my gift was the only source of water left?"

"Big chance," spits Athena.

**My mom created the olive tree. The people saw that her gift was better, so they named the city after her."**

"You know what I hate?" asks Apollo. "Your kid keeps talking about you like you're the best out of the twelve Olympians, Athena. That's not even _close_ to true. And she even implied in an earlier chapter that Demeter wasn't important!"

"Good for you, Annabeth," Athena says to her daughter.

"I _am_ important," Demeter snaps. "I oversee every growing thing on earth- except maybe humans. I could plunge the world into a cold drought- wait, I already did. Plus, I'm one of the original six Olympians."

**"They must really like olives."**

**"Oh, forget it."**

**"Now, if she'd invented pizza – **_**that**_** I could understand."**

"Me too!" cheers Hermes.

**"I said, forget it!"**

**In the front seat, Argus smiled. He didn't say anything, but one blue eye on the back of his neck winked at me. **

"Creepy," Persephone shudders.

**Traffic slowed us down in Queens. By the time we got into Manhattan it was sunset and starting to rain. **

**Argus dropped us at the Greyhound Station on the Upper East Side, not far from my mom and Gabe's apartment. Taped to a mailbox was a soggy flyer with my picture on it: HAVE YOU SEEN THIS BOY?**

Poseidon growls angrily.

**I ripped it down before Annabeth and Grover could notice. **

"The satyr will just read his emotions," Zeus says.

**Argus unloaded our bags, made sure we got our bus tickets, then drove away, the eye on the back of his hand opening to watch us as he pulled out of the parking lot. **

"I wonder how he showers," Artemis muses.

"Ew! Why are you thinking that, sis?" Apollo asks, his eyes teasing.

"Oh, shut up."

**I thought about how close I was to my old apartment. On a normal day, my mom would be home from the candy store by now. Smelly Gabe was probably up there right now, playing poker, not even missing her. **

Again, Poseidon growls. "He doesn't deserve her or anybody else."

**Grover shouldered his backpack. He gazed down the street in the direction I was looking. "You want to know why she married him, Percy?"**

"Yes," Apollo answers, nodding vigorously.

**I stared at him. "Were you reading my mind or something?"**

"Just reading your emotions," Thalia answers.

**"Just your emotions. " He shrugged. "Guess I forgot to tell you satyrs can do that.**

"Yeah, conveniently," Frank says.

**You were thinking about your mom and your stepdad, right?"**

**I nodded, wondering what else Grover might've forgotten to tell me. **

"'Forgot'," Hermes clarifies, drawing air-quotes.

**"Your mom married Gabe for you," Grover told me. "You call him 'Smelly,' but you've got no idea. The guy has this aura... Yuck. I can smell him from here. I can smell traces of him on you, and you haven't been near him for a week."**

"That should make him happy," observes Dionysus.

**"Thanks," I said. "Where's the nearest shower?"**

**"You should be grateful, Percy. Your stepfather smells so repulsively human he could mask the presence of any demigod. As soon as I took a whiff inside his Camaro, I knew: Gabe has been covering your scent for years. If you hadn't lived with him every summer, you probably would've been found by monsters a long time ago. Your mom stayed with him to protect you. She was a smart lady. She must've loved you a lot to put up with that guy - if that makes you feel any better."**

"Such a selfless woman," murmurs Athena. "If she hadn't been your lover, Fish Brains, she'd probably be almost as big as J.K. Rowling herself."

"Mortals aren't all bad," Hera admits. "And Sally Jackson is one of the best. She's so selfless, I can't begin to imagine."

**It didn't, but I forced myself not to show it. I'll see her again, I thought. She isn't gone. **

"Optimistic thinking," Demeter approvingly observes.

Nico looks down. At least Percy could hope. He had known Bianca was gone, gone and never would come back.

**I wondered if Grover could still read my emotions, mixed up as they were. I was glad he and Annabeth were with me, but I felt guilty that I hadn't been straight with them. I hadn't told them the real reason I'd said yes to this crazy quest. **

**The truth was, I didn't care about retrieving Zeus's lightning bolt,**

Zeus gasps indignantly. "He doesn't care about retrieving my bolt? That ungrateful brat!"

"You sound like Dionysus," Poseidon tells him dryly.

**or saving the world, **

"A selfless mother produced a selfish son," Artemis comments.

"No, the selfishness just came from Fish Brains over there," Athena answers her, pointing to Poseidon.

**or even helping my father out of trouble. **

"Thanks for the thought, Percy," Poseidon says sarcastically. "Good to know you care."

**The more I thought about it, I resented Poseidon for never visiting me, **

Poseidon smiles sadly. "Oh, but I did visit you. Once, that is. I tried to visit you more, but Zeus" – he shoots aforementioned brother a Look – "denied me the right, ranting on and on about _responsibilities_."

**never helping my mom, never even sending a lousy child-support check. He'd only claimed me because he needed a job done. **

"This happens in the future, but I can assure you, Percy, that that isn't true," Poseidon tells the book quietly.

**All I cared about was my mom. Hades had taken her unfairly, and Hades was going to give her back. **

Hades shrugs. "Maybe I will, maybe I won't. More of a chance I won't, though."

_**You will be betrayed by one who calls you a friend**_**, the Oracle whispered in my mind. **_**You will fail to save what matters most in the end. **_

_**Shut up**_**, I told it. **

"Good," nods Hermes, "ignore it."

**The rain kept coming down. **

**We got restless waiting for the bus and decided to play some Hacky Sack with one of Grover's apples. Annabeth was unbelievable. She could bounce the apple off her knee, her elbow, her shoulder, whatever. **

Annabeth grins. "My skills lay in places other than architecture too, you know."

**I wasn't too bad myself. **

**The game ended when I tossed the apple toward Grover and it got too close to his mouth. In one mega goat bite, our Hacky Sack disappeared-core, stem, and all. **

Everyone bursts into laughter, except Hestia, who says, "Silly satyr."

**Grover blushed. He tried to apologize, but Annabeth and I were too busy cracking up. **

**Finally the bus came. As we stood in line to board, Grover started looking around, sniffing the air like he smelled his favorite school cafeteria delicacy-enchiladas.**

Athena shoots into a straight sitting position, her grey eyes sharp.

Poseidon also leans forward slightly.

**"What is it?" I asked.**

**"I don't know," he said tensely. "Maybe it's nothing."**

**But I could tell it wasn't nothing. I started looking over my shoulder, too.**

"Monster?" whispers Hazel.

**I was relieved when we finally got on board and found seats together in the back of the bus. We stowed our backpacks. Annabeth kept slapping her Yankees cap nervously against her thigh. **

**As the last passengers got on, Annabeth clamped her hand onto my knee. "Percy."**

"Jeez, Annabeth, you could have just asked," teases Travis.

"Kind of fast on the approach, aren't you?" winks Connor.

**An old lady had just boarded the bus. She wore a crumpled velvet dress, lace gloves, and a shapeless orange-knit hat that shadowed her face, and she carried a big paisley purse. When she tilted her head up, her black eyes glittered, and my heart skipped a beat. **

**It was Mrs. Dodds. Older, more withered, but definitely the same evil face.**

Hades flinches, sure that his brother would want to kill him now.

**I scrunched down in my seat. **

**Behind her came two more old ladies: one in a green hat, one in a purple hat. Otherwise they looked exactly like Mrs. Dodds-same gnarled hands, paisley handbags, wrinkled velvet dresses. Triplet demon grandmothers. **

Poseidon growls, turning in his throne to fully face Hades. "You sent _all three_ Kindly Ones after my son? _All three_ on his _first quest_ when he's a mere _twelve years old_? Are you _mad_?"

**They sat in the front row, right behind the driver. The two on the aisle crossed their legs over the walkway, making an X. It was casual enough, but it sent a clear message: nobody leaves. **

"The three Furies together are pretty terrifying," Thalia agrees.

**The bus pulled out of the station, and we headed through the slick streets of Manhattan. "She didn't stay dead long," I said, trying to keep my voice from quivering. "I thought you said they could be dispelled for a lifetime."**

**"I said if you're **_**lucky**_**," Annabeth said. "You're obviously not."**

Nico snorts. "Lucky and Percy? Shouldn't even be in the same _paragraph_!"

Poseidon pales, turning away from the boy's father and facing the boy himself. "Percy has bad luck?"

Nico opens his mouth to answer, but Thalia claps a hand over his mouth. "_Shut up_!" she hisses.

**"All three of them," Grover whimpered. "**_**Di immortales**_**!"**

**"It's okay," Annabeth said, obviously thinking hard. "The Furies. The three worst monsters from the Underworld. No problem. No problem. We'll just slip out the windows."**

"Not up to your usual standard, daughter," Athena comments in disappointment.

Annabeth shrugs. "Try facing the three worst monsters from the Underworld and drawing up an escape plan at the same time, Mother."

**"They don't open," Grover moaned. **

**"A back exit?" she suggested. **

**There wasn't one. Even if there had been, it wouldn't have helped. By that time, we were on Ninth Avenue, heading for the Lincoln Tunnel. **

"So if you don't get killed by the Kindly Ones first, you'll be killed in a car crash," Artemis says. "Brilliant."

**"They won't attack us with witnesses around," I said. "Will they?"**

"Mist," Athena sighs wearily.

**"Mortals don't have good eyes, " Annabeth reminded me. **

"Thanks a lot, Annabeth," Rachel teases.

**"Their brains can only process what they see through the Mist."**

**"They'll see three old ladies killing us, won't they?"**

"Reasonable question," Poseidon remarks.

**She thought about it. "Hard to say. **

"Exactly. Though I think the Mist covers that, doesn't it?" Apollo asks.

"Why are you talking about the Mist like it's insurance, Lord Apollo?" Rachel asks.

**But we can't count on mortals for help. Maybe an emergency exit in the roof...?"**

**We hit the Lincoln Tunnel, and the bus went dark except for the running lights down the aisle. It was eerily quiet without the sound of the rain. **

**Mrs. Dodds got up. In a flat voice, as if she'd rehearsed it, she announced to the whole bus: "I need to use the restroom."**

"Knowing Alecto, she probably did," Hades says casually.

Persephone shivers. "I despise the Furies. They always circle me like I'm their prey and they're predators."

Demeter sniffs. "See? If you hadn't eaten those pomegranate seeds, you wouldn't be stuck down there! But _no_, you just _had_ to eat them!"

"Mother! We've been through this! I love Hades and I'm glad I did!" Persephone explains to her mother wearily.

**"So do I," said the second sister. **

**"So do I," said the third sister. **

"Way to blow your cover," Hermes snorts.

"Yeah, what three old ladies want to go to the bathroom together? That's just disturbing," Apollo chimes in.

**They all started coming down the aisle. **

**"I've got it, " Annabeth said. "Percy, take my hat."**

"Oh no," Athena realizes. "That's the worst idea I've ever heard a child of mine conceive, Annabeth! What are you _thinking_?"

**"What?"**

**"You're the one they want. Turn invisible and go up the aisle. Let them pass you. Maybe you can get to the front and get away."**

**"But you guys-"**

**"There's an outside chance they might not notice us," Annabeth said. "You're a son of one of the Big Three. Your smell might be overpowering."**

"I don't know, Athena. It sounds pretty strategic to me," Poseidon says. "Good on you, Annabeth!"

Annabeth grins.

**"I can't just leave you."**

"Is that his fatal flaw?" Persephone asks. "His loyalty to his friends?"

"Maybe. I was suspecting that," Athena answers.

**"Don't worry about us," Grover said. "Go!"**

"Such a sweet satyr. I hope I do something to his love life that's good!" Aphrodite beams.

**My hands trembled. I felt like a coward, but I took the Yankees cap and put it on. **

Athena shivers. "My magical gift to my favorite daughter just got tainted by sea spawn's germs. Ew!"

"Some people don't worry about cooties like a second-grader, Athena," Poseidon snaps at her.

"OOH, _BUUUUU-RN_!" cheers Hermes.

**When I looked down, my body wasn't there anymore. **

**I started creeping up the aisle. I managed to get up ten rows, then duck into an empty seat just as the Furies walked past. **

"They might still sniff you out," Dionysus says. "Which I hope happens."

**Mrs. Dodds stopped, sniffing, and looked straight at me. My heart was pounding. **

"Alecto has a very good sense of smell," Hades proudly discloses.

**Apparently she didn't see anything. She and her sisters kept going. **

Poseidon breathes out, a bit of color flowing back into his face.

**I was free. I made it to the front of the bus. We were almost through the Lincoln Tunnel now. I was about to press the emergency stop button when I heard hideous wailing from the back row. **

"Oh, damn," mutters Athena, worrying for her daughter's life.

"Did prim old Owl Oddball just swear?" Poseidon taunts.

**The old ladies were not old ladies anymore. Their faces were still the same – I guess those couldn't get any uglier – **

"Only Percy could joke during a life-or-death situation," Rachel mumbles, rolling her eyes.

**but their bodies had shriveled into leathery brown hag bodies with bat's wings and hands and feet like gargoyle claws. Their handbags had turned into fiery whips. **

Athena flinches, looking at her daughter as if consoling herself, telling herself that Annabeth was alive.

**The Furies surrounded Grover and Annabeth, lashing their whips, hissing: "Where is it? Where?"**

Pausing from her mild hyperventilating momentarily, Athena inquires, "_It_, not _he_?"

**The other people on the bus were screaming, cowering in their seats. They saw **_**something**_**, all right. **

"I wonder what," Hephaestus muses.

**"He's not here!" Annabeth yelled. "He's gone!"**

**The Furies raised their whips. **

"Oh dear gods," murmurs Athena. "Let them be alright, let them be alright…"

**Annabeth drew her bronze knife. Grover grabbed a tin can from his snack bag and prepared to throw it. **

Some people chuckle nervously.

"A tin can would do a lot," Jason states.

**What I did next was so impulsive and dangerous I should've been named ADHD poster child of the year. **

"Is he _puh-retty_ enough?" teases Piper.

"Ooh! Maybe you and Drew could give him a _makeover_! Wouldn't that be _awesome_? I'd oversee it!" offers Aphrodite.

Piper pulls a face. "No offense, Mom, but I'd never do _anything_ in collaboration with Drew."

Aphrodite pouts. "But Drew is an amazing girl! Why don't you like her?"

Her daughter refrains from answering.

"And my son is _not_ going to get a makeover, especially one overseen by you," Poseidon adds.

**The bus driver was distracted, trying to see what was going on in his rearview mirror. **

**Still invisible, I grabbed the wheel from him and jerked it to the left. **

Artemis groans. "I sure hope this _boy_ never gets his driver's license. He'd endanger everyone on the road."

"He's twelve, Artemis," snaps Poseidon. "You expect him to know how to drive?"

"No. But he's a male. I don't expect _anything_ of males."

"Good point," mutters Apollo.

**Everybody howled as they were thrown to the right, and I heard what I hoped was the sound of three Furies smashing against the windows. **

"Hopefully _not_ my daughter," Athena bites out.

**"Hey!" the driver yelled. "Hey – whoa!"**

**We wrestled for the wheel. The bus slammed against the side of the tunnel, grinding metal, throwing sparks a mile behind us. **

**We careened out of the Lincoln Tunnel and back into the rainstorm, people and monsters tossed around the bus, cars plowed aside like bowling pins. **

**Somehow the driver found an exit. We shot off the highway, through half a dozen traffic lights, and ended up barreling down one of those New Jersey rural roads where you can't believe there's so much nothing right across the river from New York. There were woods to our left, the Hudson River to our right, and the driver seemed to be veering toward the river. **

Poseidon shrugs nonchalantly. "Nothing will happen to Percy in the water."

Athena, on the verge of biting her nails, turns to him and glares. "And my daughter? The satyr?"

Her archrival rolls his eyes. "Percy's flaw is loyalty for his friends, right? He's not going to let them _drown_!"

**Another great idea: I hit the emergency brake.**

**The bus wailed, spun a full circle on the wet asphalt, and crashed into the trees. The emergency lights came on. The door flew open. The bus driver was the first one out, the passengers yelling as they stampeded after him. I stepped into the driver's seat and let them pass. **

"They leave with nothing about the Furies," states Hera. "Wow."

**The Furies regained their balance. They lashed their whips at Annabeth while she waved her knife and yelled in Ancient Greek, telling them to back off. Grover threw tin cans. **

"So helpful. I knew I should have blew the useless goat up when I had the chance," grumbles Zeus.

**I looked at the open doorway. I was free to go, but I couldn't leave my friends. I took off the invisible cap. "Hey!"**

"Stupid, stupid, stupid," Poseidon chants lowly, his face losing color again.

**The Furies turned, baring their yellow fangs at me, **

"Someone needs to go to the dentist," Apollo jokes.

"You're not kidding. Those teeth are hideous," Persephone agrees.

"I don't employ dentists in the Underworld, love," Hades tells his wife, rolling his eyes.

Persephone crosses her arms. "I'm sure in the billions of shades that you'll find _one_ dead dentist."

**and the exit suddenly seemed like an excellent idea. Mrs. Dodds stalked up the aisle, just as she used to do in class, about to deliver my F– math test. Every time she flicked her whip, red flames danced along the barbed leather. **

**Her two ugly sisters hopped on top of the seats on either side of her and crawled toward me like huge nasty lizards. **

**"Perseus Jackson," Mrs. Dodds said, in an accent that was definitely from somewhere farther south than Georgia. **

"Yeah, like maybe from the Underworld," Jason comments.

**"You have offended the gods. You shall die."**

"Um, actually, he's only offended her… for now," Thalia speaks up.

**"I liked you better as a math teacher," I told her. **

"Smart mouth _now_?" groans Poseidon.

**She growled. **

**Annabeth and Grover moved up behind the Furies cautiously, looking for an opening. **

**I took the ballpoint pen out of my pocket and un-capped it. Riptide elongated into a shimmering double-edged sword. **

Hades chuckles. "Alecto doesn't like seeing the same blade twice – especially if it's already sliced through her."

"You're supposed to be on your servant's side, Uncle H!" Apollo chastises him.

"Don't call me Uncle H!"

**The Furies hesitated. **

**Mrs. Dodds had felt Riptide's blade before. She obviously didn't like seeing it again. **

**"Submit now," she hissed. "And you will not suffer eternal torment."**

"Uh, no. I would kill Hades again and again for eternity if he decided that I'd let his decision of putting Percy in Tartarus slide," Poseidon snaps.

**"Nice try," I told her.**

**"Percy, look out!" Annabeth cried. **

Annabeth winces. "I wasn't _exactly_ in time…"

Poseidon pales further, nearing Hades' shade of white.

**Mrs. Dodds lashed her whip around my sword hand while the Furies on the either side lunged at me. **

"How in Tartarus is he supposed to fight two Furies and _win_?" demands Poseidon, nearly ripping off his beard.

**My hand felt like it was wrapped in molten lead, but I managed not to drop Riptide. **

"And how in Tartarus did he not drop his sword?" yelps Nico.

**I stuck the Fury on the left with its hilt, sending her toppling backward into a seat. I turned and sliced the Fury on the right. As soon as the blade connected with her neck, she screamed and exploded into dust. **

"Well. I probably won't be any happier than I am with Perseus Jackson, I suppose," Hades says.

**Annabeth got Mrs. Dodds in a wrestler's hold and yanked her backward while Grover ripped the whip out of her hands.**

Almost everyone present winces.

All except Ares and Clarisse, who had kicked back and are eating a huge bowl of popcorn, enraptured by the warlike story.

**"Ow!" he yelled. "Ow! Hot! Hot!"**

"A flaming whip is hot? Wow," mutters Leo, trying to cut through the tension.

It doesn't work.

**The Fury I'd hilt-slammed came at me again, talons ready, but I swung Riptide and she broke open like a piñata. **

Poseidon loosens his grip on his armrests. "He just disintegrated two Kindly Ones. On his first quest. And he's _alive_."

"Don't get too excited yet," Athena warns him. "There's still one more."

**Mrs. Dodds was trying to get Annabeth off her back. She kicked, clawed, hissed and bit, but Annabeth held on while Grover got Mrs. Dodds's legs tied up in her own whip. **

"Very good," murmurs Athena, also turning white.

**Finally they both shoved her backward into the aisle. Mrs. Dodds tried to get up, but she didn't have room to flap her bat wings, so she kept falling down.**

Annabeth giggles. "That was a pretty hilarious sight. Or it could have just been relieving."

**"Zeus will destroy you!" she promised. "Hades will have your soul!"**

Hades shrugs. "Usually, Alecto makes good on her promises."

Poseidon growls at him. "She won't this time, unless she wants to be submitted to eternal punishment herself."

"You can't order one of _my_ servants around in _my_ realm!" Hades argues.

"But I _can_ lure her into _my_ realm and punish her there," retorts Poseidon.

**"**_**Braccas meas vescimini**_**!" I yelled. **

Jason, Hazel, Frank, and Reyna look surprised.

"Did he just speak Latin?" Frank inquires incredulously.

"A _Greek demigod_ just spoke Latin?" Hazel asks.

Annabeth looks mildly surprised as she says, "I tried to teach him Latin at some point, but I think he kind of zoned out during the couple of lessons."

Reyna looks at her. "I taught him Latin while he was at Camp Jupiter. But I don't know how he knows it at this point in the book…"

**I wasn't sure where the Latin came from. I think it meant "Eat my pants!"**

"It does," clarifies Jason.

**Thunder shook the bus. **

"Zeus, you make an entrance _now_?" Poseidon groans.

**The hair rose on the back of my neck. **

**"Get out!" Annabeth yelled at me. "Now!" I didn't need any encouragement. **

"Thank the gods," Poseidon sighs, and immediately replies, "You're welcome."

"So arrogant," snaps Athena.

"Why thank you, Owl-Droppings-for-Brains."

**We rushed outside and found the other passengers wandering around in a daze, arguing with the driver, or running around in circles yelling, "We're going to die!" A Hawaiian-shirted tourist with a camera snapped my photograph before I could recap my sword.**

"With the Mist, they probably won't see the sword anyway," Artemis says.

**"Our bags!" Grover realized. "We left our-"**

"They're worrying about that?" Hestia asks, but immediately turns back to the book.

_**BOOOOOM!**_

**The windows of the bus exploded as the passengers ran for cover. Lightning shredded a huge crater in the roof, but an angry wail from inside told me Mrs. Dodds was not yet dead. **

"Was I _trying_ to kill her?" Zeus questions, amazed.

"You were probably aiming for the demigods," Hera answers him. "But they got out before you could hit them."

**"Run!" Annabeth said. "She's calling for reinforcements! We have to get out of here!"**

"Damn straight," mutters Hermes.

**We plunged into the woods as the rain poured down, the bus in flames behind us, and nothing but darkness ahead.**

"How dramatic," Zeus says.

"Like you," fires back Poseidon.

"Okay, okay, boys!" scolds Hestia, but a fond smile is on her face. "Why don't you argue during our next break or meal? In the meantime, who would like to read next?"

No one offers until Artemis raises her hand. "I would, thank you, Lady Hestia."

Hestia smiles at her niece and hands the book over.

Before Artemis could start, the doors to the throne room bang open.

Octavian enters, and everyone present bursts into laughter.

He is covered from head to toe in fluffy white shaving cream, and scrawled across his back, in black shaving gel, are the words:

_GRACEUS LOVER_

in Ancient Greek.

Almost instantly, Hermes looks over to his sons, who are rolling on the floor laughing. Chuckling to himself, he decides to be an irresponsible dad and just roll with it.

Finally, everyone calms down.

"_QUI HOC FECIT AD ME? DORSUM ET QUID LOQUAR?_" Octavian demands in Latin. (WHO DID THIS TO ME? AND WHAT DOES IT SAY ON MY BACK?)

When no one answers, he huffs impatiently and walks over to his chair.

Reyna jumps up. "_Non sedens solio te perdere_!" she snaps at him. (Don't sit down, you'll ruin the chair!)

"_Me exspectant justi stabunt in omni tempore sic_?" Octavian demands in return. (So you expect me to just stand the whole time?)

"_Ita_!" Reyna replies. (Yes!)

"_Agedum, praetor_!" Octavian spits, using the title like it tasted poisonous in his mouth. (Fine, praetor!)

"_Bonum_," Reyna says and turns back to the council and her fellow demigods. "I apologize for that little display. Please, Lady Diana, read."

x.o.x.o.x.

A/N: So, it looks like the Stolls just pranked our dear Octavian! ;) He didn't die, though. I'm sorry if any of the Latin translations were incorrect; I used Google Translate and sometimes it isn't reliable, I've found. Same with the Spanish last chapter. I hope you enjoyed it, and until next time, love from me!


	12. We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium

A/N: Later than usual… but I was on a short trip to Connecticut and I had no time! It was fun, though! Thank you all for getting me past my former highest-reviewed story, _For Love_!__OH, AND I AM CHANGING THIS TO _PAST TENSE_, JUST BECAUSE ANOTHER ONE OF MY STORIES HAS PAST TENSE AND IT'S EASIER IF I STAY CONSISTENT! SORRY FOR ANY CONFUSION!

x.o.x.o.x.

**We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium**, read Artemis.

No one bothered to make a comment, since the title was so weird.

**In a way, it's nice to know there are Greek gods out there, **

"Because we're awesome?" guessed Apollo, grinning.

**because you have somebody to blame when things go wrong. **

"Oh," said Apollo, looking crestfallen.

"That's a good way of looking at it," commented Reyna, stifling a laugh. Her co-praetor could be so silly sometimes.

**For instance, when you're walking away from a bus that's just been attacked by monster hags and blown up by lightning, and it's raining on top of everything else, most people might think that's just really bad luck; when you're a half-blood, you understand that some divine force really is trying to mess up your day. **

"Actually, in Percy's case, I'm pretty sure it's both," Thalia quipped.

"Though with my dad involved, since the Kindly Ones were, it's kind of just the divine force," Nico contradicted her.

**So there we were, Annabeth and Grover and I, walking through the woods along the New Jersey riverbank, the glow of New York City making the night sky yellow behind us, and the smell of the Hudson reeking in our noses. **

Poseidon cringed. "I really need to get those rivers cleaned, don't I?"

"Hell yeah," muttered Connor.

**Grover was shivering and braying, his big goat eyes turned slit-pupiled and full of terror. "Three Kindly Ones. All three at once."**

"Yeah. I think they'd know that, since they were just in the attack," Jason remarked, rolling his eyes.

**I was pretty much in shock myself. The explosion of bus windows still rang in my ears. But Annabeth kept pulling us along, saying: "Come on! The farther away we get, the better."**

Athena nodded approvingly. "Very good, daughter. At least you aren't completely stupid and unwise. But wait. What am I saying? All my children are smart and wise. So of course you aren't."

"Yeah. All your _children_ are smart and wise. Now _you_, on the other hand…" Poseidon trailed off, smirking.

**"All our money was back there," I reminded her. "Our food and clothes. Everything."**

**"Well, maybe if you hadn't decided to jump into the fight-"**

"Now you're accusing him?" Katie asked. "I mean, you should know that his loyalty for his friends would get in the way of everything anyway."

"I barely knew him, Katie," Annabeth reminded her.

**"What did you want me to do? Let you get killed?"**

Will snorted. "Percy would never allow that."

**"You didn't need to protect me, Percy. I would've been fine."**

"Sliced like sandwich bread, but fine," Leo said sarcastically.

Artemis looked at him. "Boys," she muttered, before reading the next line.

**"Sliced like sandwich bread," Grover put in, "but fine."**

"OH NO! DO WE HAVE TO MAKE ANOTHER DISEASE? _THINKING LIKE GROVER SYNDROME?_ WHAT HAS THE WORLD COME TO?" wailed Nico.

"Are you sure you're my son and not Zeus's? Because I'm not that dramatic, and neither was Maria," Hades informed him.

Persephone sighed, her eyes on the floor. "Can we please not talk about her in my presence?" she inquired softly.

Demeter leaned over and patted her hand. "You can always come to live with me, dear." She shot a glare at Hades. "See what you did? You always make my precious angel cry."

**"Shut up, goat boy," said Annabeth. **

**Grover brayed mournfully. "Tin cans ... A perfectly good bag of tin cans."**

"He's worrying about tin cans when they lost a hundred bucks and twenty drachmas?" demanded Hermes. "With a hundred bucks and twenty drachmas, I'd invade the video game store!"

"Or buy candy," drooled Apollo.

**We sloshed across mushy ground, through nasty twisted trees that smelled like sour laundry. **

**After a few minutes, Annabeth fell into line next to me. "Look, I..." Her voice faltered. "I appreciate your coming back for us, okay? That was really brave."**

"That must have taken a lot of courage to say that," Hestia observed quietly, looking at Annabeth.

Annabeth smiled at her. "It did," she admitted, "but I'm glad I said it. Without Percy, I probably would have been dead within five minutes on that quest.

**"We're a team, right?"**

**She was silent for a few more steps. "It's just that if you died... aside from the fact that it would really suck for you, **

"You think?" asked Poseidon sarcastically.

**it would mean the quest was over. This may be my only chance to see the real world."**

"You're worrying more about your chance to see the real world than his _life_?" Hazel questioned in amazement.

Annabeth shrugged. "I was naïve and stubborn and prideful in my abilities. I barely thought about him that quest, just my chances."

"At least you can admit it," Hestia told her gently.

"Thank you, Lady Hestia. I wasn't proud of that," murmured Annabeth.

**The thunderstorm had finally let up. The city glow faded behind us, leaving us in almost total darkness. I couldn't see anything of Annabeth except a glint of her blond hair. **

**"You haven't left Camp Half-Blood since you were seven?" I asked her. **

**"No... only short field trips. **

"Like to Olympus," Frank said enviously.

**My dad-"**

**"The history professor."**

Athena smiled. "He was a very bright man."

**"Yeah. It didn't work out for me living at home. **

Now Athena frowned. "What happened, daughter?"

Annabeth coughed slightly. "I think I told Percy, so it'll probably be in the books."

**I mean, Camp Half-Blood **_**is**_** my home." She was rushing her words out now, as if she were afraid somebody might try to stop her. "At camp you train and train. And that's all cool and everything, but the real world is where the monsters are. That's where you learn whether you're any good or not."**

**If I didn't know better, I could've sworn I heard doubt in her voice. **

Annabeth smiled. "Maybe he knew me better than I thought he did. I doubted my abilities a little after the Kindly Ones attacked us."

**"You're pretty good with that knife," I said. **

"He's trying to get her mind off the more trying subjects," observed Persephone, smiling. "He's so sweet."

**"You think so?"**

**"Anybody who can piggyback-ride a Fury is okay by me."**

"Wow, what a brilliant idea! They should make that a kiddy ride at the mall!" said Leo.

**I couldn't really see, but I thought she might've smiled. **

**"You know," she said, "maybe I should tell you ... Something funny back on the bus..."**

**Whatever she wanted to say was interrupted by a shrill **_**toot-toot-toot**_**, like the sound of an owl being tortured. **

Athena winced. "I hate thinking of an owl being tortured."

"Good to know," taunted Poseidon, grinning.

**"Hey, my reed pipes still work!" Grover cried. "If I could just remember a 'find path' song, we could get out of these woods!"**

**He puffed out a few notes, but the tune still sounded suspiciously like Hilary Duff. **

"So Grover likes Hilary Duff, huh?" said Piper. "I might have a few of her CDs…"

**Instead of finding a path, I immediately slammed into a tree and got a nice-size knot on my head. **

**Add to the list of superpowers I did not have: infrared vision.**

"That would be helpful," agreed Jason.

Annabeth, Piper, and Reyna stared him.

"Are you becoming more agreeable?" asked Annabeth.

"And reasonable?" added Reyna.

Jason shrugged. "Maybe."

**After tripping and cursing and generally feeling miserable for another mile or so, I started to see light up ahead: the colors of a neon sign. I could smell food. Fried, greasy, excellent food. **

The gods began to drool, while the goddesses shook their heads in disapproval, especially Demeter.

"Fried and greasy food is _bad_ for you! No, no, cereal and wheat and granola are always better. Always go for cereal and wheat and granola," Demeter said.

"Are you mad, woman? FRIED IS FANTASTIC! GREASY IS GREAT!" yelled Apollo.

**I realized I hadn't eaten anything unhealthy since I'd arrived at Half-Blood Hill, where we lived on grapes, bread, cheese, and extra-lean-cut nymph-prepared barbecue. **

Demeter looked disgruntled. "Not as good as cereal and wheat and granola, but…"

"Mother, cool off a little, won't you? Grapes, bread, and cheese are perfectly healthy. And I'm sure those nymphs wouldn't let them eat anything bad," Persephone assured her mother.

**This boy needed a double cheeseburger. **

"YES!" drooled Hermes.

**We kept walking until I saw a deserted two-lane road through the trees. On the other side was a closed- down gas station, a tattered billboard for a 1990s movie, and one open business, which was the source of the neon light and the good smell.**

**It wasn't a fast-food restaurant like I'd hoped. It was one of those weird roadside curio shops that sell lawn flamingos and wooden Indians and cement grizzly bears and stuff like that. **

Persephone leaned forward. Could it be…?

**The main building was a long, low warehouse, surrounded by acres of statuary. The neon sign above the gate was impossible for me to read, because if there's anything worse for my dyslexia than regular English, it's red cursive neon English. **

"Or the satyrs' cards I have printed up," Dionysus added wickedly.

"You'll be changing those," Zeus snapped at him.

**To me, it looked like: **_**ATNYU MES GDERAN GOMEN MEPROUIM**_**. **

"Um… what?" Artemis asked after trying (hopelessly) to pronounce that.

**"What the heck does that say?" I asked. **

**"I don't know," Annabeth said. **

**She loved reading so much, I'd forgotten she was dyslexic, too. **

Annabeth sighed wistfully. "That's the downside. I really wish demigods weren't dyslexic. It is killer having to either find an Ancient Greek copy of a book (which is really hard, by the way) or stumbling through an English copy for days on end."

**Grover translated: "Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium."**

Athena sat up. Aunty _Em's_?

**Flanking the entrance, as advertised, were two cement garden gnomes, ugly bearded little runts, smiling and waving, as if they were about to get their picture taken. **

Persephone also sat straight, her mind working on her already formed theory.

**I crossed the street, following the smell of the hamburgers. **

**"Hey..." Grover warned. **

"He smells monsters," muttered Poseidon. "Don't go in there."

**"The lights are on inside," Annabeth said. "Maybe it's open."**

"_Annabeth_!" groaned Athena.

Annabeth smiled. "Sorry?" she tried.

**"Snack bar," I said wistfully. **

"**Snack bar," she agreed. **

"Aw, cut them some slack, Athena. They're hungry and they just lost their money," Apollo told her. "And I want to read about _food_!"

**"Are you two crazy?" Grover said. "This place is weird."**

"I wonder what…" Hera trailed off.

"Please be wrong, Grover… _food_," wailed Hermes.

"A satyr's nose is hardly ever wrong," snapped Dionysus.

**We ignored him. **

**The front lot was a forest of statues: cement animals, cement children, even a cement satyr playing the pipes, which gave Grover the creeps. **

**"**_**Bla-ha-ha**_**!" he bleated. "Looks like my Uncle Ferdinand!"**

That confirmed Athena, Poseidon, and Persephone's suspicions.

They glanced at each other.

**We stopped at the warehouse door. **

**"Don't knock," Grover pleaded. "I smell monsters."**

"_Listen_ to him!" cried Persephone.

**"Your nose is clogged up from the Furies," Annabeth told him. **

"No it _isn't_, daughter!" exclaimed Athena.

"I know that now," grumbled Annabeth.

**"All I smell is burgers. Aren't you hungry?"**

"Of _course_ you only smell burgers! You aren't a satyr! Satyrs can smell monsters!" groaned Athena.

**"Meat!" he said scornfully. "I'm a vegetarian."**

**"You eat cheese enchiladas and aluminum cans," I reminded him. **

**"Those are vegetables. **

The demigods all laughed.

"Grover," said Thalia, shaking her head.

**Come on. Let's leave. These statues are... looking at me."**

"He knows," mumbled Poseidon.

"He knows what?" Hades asked.

"Nothing," replied Poseidon quickly.

**Then the door creaked open, and standing in front of us was a tall Middle Eastern woman – at least, I assumed she was Middle Eastern, because she wore a long black gown that covered everything but her hands, and her head was completely veiled. Her eyes glinted behind a curtain of black gauze, but that was about all I could make out. Her coffee-colored hands looked old, but well-manicured and elegant, so I imagined she was a grandmother who had once been a beautiful lady. **

"Mhm she was," muttered Poseidon.

Athena, hearing, glared at him. "Don't I know."

**Her accent sounded vaguely Middle Eastern, too. She said, "Children, it is too late to be out all alone. Where are your parents?"**

**"They're... um..." Annabeth started to say. **

**"We're orphans," I said. **

**"Orphans?" the woman said. The word sounded alien in her mouth. "But, my dears! Surely not!"**

**"We got separated from our caravan," I said. "Our circus caravan. **

"_Circus caravan_?" repeated Piper, giggling.

**The ringmaster told us to meet him at the gas station if we got lost, but he may have forgotten, or maybe he meant a different gas station. Anyway, we're lost. Is that food I smell?"**

**"Oh, my dears, " the woman said. "You must come in, poor children. I am Aunty Em. Go straight through to the back of the warehouse, please. There is a dining area."**

**We thanked her and went inside. **

**Annabeth muttered to me, "Circus caravan?"**

**"Always have a strategy, right?"**

**"Your head is full of kelp."**

"Just like his father's," Athena said.

"Your daughter said, and I quote, 'they're… um…'. Yeah, that's a very good explanation," Poseidon retorted. "At least my son can improvise."

Athena huffed. "She'll see right through the story anyway. And it's so shady."

"Better than 'they're… um…', though, isn't it?" Poseidon teased.

**The warehouse was filled with more statues – people in all different poses, wearing all different outfits and with different expressions on their faces. I was thinking you'd have to have a pretty huge garden to fit even one of these statues, because they were all life-size. **

Persephone chuckled, thinking, _Oh, we do have a pretty huge garden. Thanks to me, of course._

**But mostly, I was thinking about food. **

**Go ahead, call me an idiot for walking into a strange lady's shop ****like that just because I was hungry, **

"Idiot," chimed all the demigods except for Octavian, who simply scowled and muttered to himself.

"Hey, Octavian. Why didn't you think to take a shower first?" Connor called, laughing.

Octavian scowled more fiercely. "I couldn't find the shower," he excused himself weakly.

Travis snorted. "The showers were just down the hall, labeled _SHOWERS_. Kind of hard to miss, if you ask me."

"Well, I _didn't_ ask you," snapped Octavian. "_Bardus_," he added under his breath. (Stupid.)

**but I do impulsive stuff sometimes. **

Will nodded knowingly. "ADHD."

**Plus, you've never smelled Aunty Em's burgers. The aroma was like laughing gas in the dentist's chair – it made everything else go away. I barely noticed Grover's nervous whimpers, or the way the statues' eyes seemed to follow me, or the fact that Aunty Em had locked the door behind us. **

"She locked the door?" demanded Hera worriedly.

**All I cared about was finding the dining area. And sure enough, there it was at the back of the warehouse, a fast-food counter with a grill, a soda fountain, a pretzel heater, and a nacho cheese dispenser. Everything you could want, plus a few steel picnic tables out front. **

**"Please, sit down," Aunty Em said. **

**"Awesome," I said. **

**"Um," Grover said reluctantly, "we don't have any money, ma'am."**

"That should get them out of there," muttered Poseidon, nearly hyperventilating.

**Before I could jab him in the ribs, Aunty Em said, "No, no, children. No money. This is a special case, yes? It is my treat, for such nice orphans."**

Persephone snorted. "Special case. Yeah, right."

**"Thank you, ma'am," Annabeth said. **

**Aunty Em stiffened, as if Annabeth had done something wrong, but then the old woman relaxed just as quickly, so I figured it must've been my imagination. **

Athena shook her head. "No, it wasn't sea spawn's imagination. She knows…"

**"Quite all right, Annabeth, " she said. "You have such beautiful gray eyes, child." **

Athena nodded now. "She _knows_."

"How the Hades does she know Annabeth's name?" demanded Apollo.

Hades glared at him. "I'm right here."

**Only later did I wonder how she knew Annabeth's name, even though we had never introduced ourselves. **

**Our hostess disappeared behind the snack counter and started cooking. Before we knew it, she'd brought us plastic trays heaped with double cheeseburgers, vanilla shakes, and XXL servings of French fries. **

"Mmmmmm…" drools Hermes and Apollo.

**I was halfway through my burger before I remembered to breathe.**

"Boys," scoffed Artemis.

**Annabeth slurped her shake. **

**Grover picked at the fries, and eyed the tray's waxed paper liner as if he might go for that, but he still looked too nervous to eat. **

"Satyrs. I go through Tartarus to get them what they want for food," muttered Dionysus bitterly.

"Actually, you don't do anything except play pinochle with Chiron (and lose every time), complain about Zeus and your punishment, and drink Diet Coke," quipped Travis.

"Shut your mouth, Timmy," Dionysus snapped back.

Zeus raised an eyebrow. "You complain about me?"

"No, Lord Zeus, the boy is making up falsehoods," Dionysus said quickly.

The other eyebrow went up, but Zeus said nothing else.

**"What's that hissing noise?" he asked. **

Poseidon flinched. "If the satyr hears something, it's bad."

**I listened, but didn't hear anything. Annabeth shook her head. **

"Because human ears aren't as sharp as satyrs' are," Athena said, looking worried.

"**Hissing?" Aunty Em asked. "Perhaps you hear the deep-fryer oil. You have keen ears, Grover."**

**"I take vitamins. For my ears."**

**"That's admirable," she said. "But please, relax."**

**Aunty Em ate nothing. She hadn't taken off her headdress, even to cook, **

Hera's eyes narrowed. She glanced at Athena and Poseidon.

Poseidon was the one to notice her gaze. Studying her eyes carefully, he nodded ever so slightly.

**and now she sat forward and interlaced her fingers and watched us eat. It was a little unsettling, having someone stare at me when I couldn't see her face, but I was feeling satisfied after the burger, and a little sleepy, and I figured the least I could do was try to make small talk with our hostess. **

**"So, you sell gnomes," I said, trying to sound interested. **

**"Oh, yes," Aunty Em said. "And animals. And people. Anything for the garden. Custom orders. Statuary is very popular, you know."**

**"A lot of business on this road?"**

**"Not so much, no. Since the highway was built... Most cars, they do not go this way now. I must cherish every customer I get."**

Persephone snorted. "That's for sure."

Hades looked at her in surprise. "What do you mean, love?"

"Nothing," replied Persephone.

**My neck tingled, as if somebody else was looking at me. I turned, but it was just a statue of a young girl holding an Easter basket. The detail was incredible, much better than you see in most garden statues. But something was wrong with her face. It looked as if she were startled, or even terrified. **

**"Ah," Aunty Em said sadly. "You notice some of my creations do not turn out well. They are marred. They do not sell. The face is the hardest to get right. Always the face."**

_Because they are terrified of her! You can't change a human's face, even after they turn to stone_, thought Athena.

**"You make these statues yourself?" I asked. **

**"Oh, yes. Once upon a time, I had two sisters to help me in the business, but they have passed on, and Aunty Em is alone. **

Artemis gasped. "Two sisters…? Is that- is that _Medusa_?"

Poseidon, Athena, Persephone, and Hera looked at her.

"Yes," Hera responded finally. "It is Medusa."

"The monster Athena created?" Ares checked.

Athena growled at him. "It was his fault! _He_ brought her into _my_ temple!"

"Oh, shut up, Owl-Droppings-for-Brains," snapped Poseidon. "Our children are in danger and all you care is _that_?"

**I have only my statues. This is why I make them, you see. They are my company." The sadness in her voice sounded so deep and so real that I couldn't help feeling sorry for her.**

**Annabeth had stopped eating. She sat forward and said, "Two sisters?"**

Athena grinned. "Good. She figured it out. Now the hard part: getting sea spawn to follow her out."

**"It's a terrible story," Aunty Em said. "Not one for children, really. You see, Annabeth, a bad woman was jealous of me, long ago, when I was young. I had a... a boyfriend, you know, **

"I was _not_ her BOYFRIEND!" shouted Poseidon in exasperation.

**and this bad woman was determined to break us apart. **

"I was _not_ 'determined to break' them apart! She's making it sound as if I was _jealous_!" spat Athena.

Poseidon smirked. "_Were_ you now, Athena?"

Athena glared at him.

**She caused a terrible accident. My sisters stayed by me. They shared my bad fortune as long as they could, but eventually they passed on. They faded away. I alone have survived, but at a price. Such a price."**

**I wasn't sure what she meant, but I felt bad for her. My eyelids kept getting heavier, my full stomach making me sleepy. Poor old lady. Who would want to hurt somebody so nice?**

"Me!" grumbled Athena.

**"Percy?" Annabeth was shaking me to get my attention. "Maybe we should go. I mean, the ringmaster will be waiting."**

"Listen to the girl, Percy," groaned Poseidon.

Annabeth smirked, feeling much calmer than her mother and the Sea God were at the moment. "If only you'd told him that earlier, Lord Poseidon."

**She sounded tense. I wasn't sure why. Grover was eating the waxed paper off the tray now, but if Aunty Em found that strange, she didn't say anything. **

**"Such beautiful gray eyes," Aunty Em told Annabeth again. "My, yes, it has been a long time since I've seen gray eyes like those."**

Athena cringed. "And here she goes _'complimenting_' my eyes."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "My eyes, actually, Mother."

"But you got them from me," shot back Athena. "And _I_ was the one to create the monster in her."

**She reached out as if to stroke Annabeth's cheek, but Annabeth stood up abruptly. **

**"We really should go."**

**"Yes!" Grover swallowed his waxed paper and stood up. "The ringmaster is waiting! Right!"**

Dionysus groaned. "Tommy and Craig, you need to teach Gary how to lie _smoothly_."

Travis rolled his eyes. "My name is _Travis_."

"And mine is _Connor_. And it's _Grover_."

**I didn't want to leave. I felt full and content. Aunty Em was so nice. I wanted to stay with her a while. **

"Just go! _Go_, Percy!" groaned Poseidon.

**"Please, dears, " Aunty Em pleaded. "I so rarely get to be with children. Before you go, won't you at least sit for a pose?"**

"NO!" shouted Persephone.

**"A pose?" Annabeth asked warily. **

"Good. Be wary," muttered Athena.

**"A photograph. I will use it to model a new statue set. Children are so popular, you see. Everyone loves children."**

"And apparently she loves them so much, she turns them to stone," Hera spat.

**Annabeth shifted her weight from foot to foot. "I don't think we can, ma'am. Come on, Percy-"**

**"Sure we can," I said. I was irritated with Annabeth for being so bossy, so rude to an old lady who'd just fed us for free. "It's just a photo, Annabeth. What's the harm?"**

"A _lot_ of harm, stupid, ignorant sea spawn!" yelled Athena. "Get the Hades out of there before you get my daughter turned to stone!"

"Er, Mother? I'm right here… and _not_ in stone," Annabeth pointed out.

**"Yes, Annabeth," the woman purred. "No harm."**

**I could tell Annabeth didn't like it, but she allowed Aunty Em to lead us back out the front door, into the garden of statues. **

**Aunty Em directed us to a park bench next to the stone satyr. "Now," she said, "I'll just position you correctly. The young girl in the middle, I think, and the two young gentlemen on either side."**

**"Not much light for a photo," I remarked. **

"Is he finally catching on?" asked Zeus.

Poseidon glared at him. "Shut it, Zeus."

**"Oh, enough," Aunty Em said. "Enough for us to see each other, yes?"**

**"Where's your camera?" Grover asked. **

"Good question," murmured Hephaestus.

"Oh, don't get turned to stone! It will be so much fun to play with your love lives!" Aphrodite pleaded, smiling widely.

"My son is in danger and you're worrying about his _love life_?" demanded Poseidon.

**Aunty Em stepped back, as if to admire the shot. "Now, the face is the most difficult. Can you smile for me please, everyone? A large smile?"**

"Hmm… if I was there, I'd put some makeup on!" decided Aphrodite.

"It's just going to turn to stone too," Athena told her wearily.

**Grover glanced at the cement satyr next to him, and mumbled, "That sure does look like Uncle Ferdinand."**

**"Grover," Aunty Em chastised, "look this way, dear."**

**She still had no camera in her hands. **

**"Percy-" Annabeth said. **

**Some instinct warned me to listen to Annabeth, **

"Listen to your instinct!" said Apollo. "It's probably me, the greatest Olympian, sending you something about the future!"

"What were you saying about being the greatest Olympian?" asked Zeus.

Artemis rolled her eyes. "Boys. So competitive."

**but I was fighting the sleepy feeling, the comfortable lull that came from the food and the old lady's voice.**

**"I will just be a moment," Aunty Em said. "You know, I can't see you very well in this cursed veil..."**

"NO!" shrieked Athena. "Don't take off the veil!"

"Did you just _shriek_?" asked Hermes gleefully. "Oi! Athena just _shrieked_!"

"I did not," protested Athena.

**"Percy, something's wrong," Annabeth insisted. **

**"Wrong?" Aunty Em said, reaching up to undo the wrap around her head. "Not at all, dear. I have such noble company tonight. What could be wrong?"**

**"That **_**is**_** Uncle Ferdinand!" Grover gasped.**

"Grover comes to a realization," Thalia announced dramatically.

"About time," her father muttered.

**"Look away from her!" Annabeth shouted. She whipped her Yankees cap onto her head and vanished. Her invisible hands pushed Grover and me both off the bench. **

**I was on the ground, looking at Aunt Em's sandaled feet. **

Poseidon closed his eyes. "I never thought I'd say this to a daughter of Olive Obsessed Be-_yotch_, but thank you," he told Annabeth.

Annabeth grinned. "No problem, Lord Poseidon. But judging by my mother's face, she doesn't approve of your nickname."

Athena was scowling fiercely at Poseidon.

"Oh, that? That happens every day," Poseidon replied, smirking.

**I could hear Grover scrambling off in one direction, Annabeth in another. But I was too dazed to move. **

"Damn it, _move_!" yelled Poseidon, all playfulness gone.

**Then I heard a strange, rasping sound above me. My eyes rose to Aunty Em's hands, which had turned gnarled and warty, with sharp bronze talons for fingernails.**

Groaning, Poseidon muttered, "Don't go any higher, please don't go any higher…"

**I almost looked higher, but somewhere off to my left Annabeth screamed, "No! Don't!"**

**More rasping – the sound of tiny snakes, right above me, from ... from about where Aunty Em's head would be. **

"He is so freaking slow!" shouted Athena.

"Chill, half-sis! He gets out alive," Apollo assured her.

"You think I care about sea spawn? I'm worrying about my daughter and the danger she's in while under the _'care'_ of that sea spawn! And _don't call me half-sis_!" Athena snapped back.

Apollo rolled his eyes. "She's going to be _fine_, Athena."

"And how can you be sure?" demanded Athena.

Grinning widely, Apollo answered, "I am the God of Prophecies, remember? I know the future."

Athena relaxed just a tiny bit.

Apollo smirked. He didn't bother to mention that her alive and well daughter was sitting across the room, smiling in amusement.

**"Run!" Grover bleated. I heard him racing across the gravel, yelling, "**_**Maia**_**!" to kick-start his flying sneakers. **

**I couldn't move. I stared at Aunty Em's gnarled claws, and tried to fight the groggy trance the old woman had put me in. **

**"Such a pity to destroy a handsome young face," she told me soothingly. "Stay with me, Percy. All you have to do is look up."**

"Nooooooooo…." moaned Poseidon.

**I fought the urge to obey. Instead I looked to one side and saw one of those glass spheres people put in gardens – a gazing ball. I could see Aunty Em's dark reflection in the orange glass; her headdress was gone, revealing her face as a shimmering pale circle. Her hair was moving, writhing like serpents. **

**Aunty Em. **

**Aunty "M."**

**How could I have been so stupid?**

Athena laughed derisively. "You're the son of Kelp-for-Brains. Of _course_ you're going to be stupid."

"He's smarter than he first comes off as," Will informed the Wisdom Goddess.

"No he isn't. The Prissy always gets into fights with me. And that's not smart if he wants to live," Clarisse said.

**Think, I told myself. How did Medusa die in the myth?**

"She didn't die," corrected Artemis, breaking off her reading. "Her head was cut off."

"Same difference," muttered Nico.

Thalia glared at him. "Don't disrespect Lady Artemis, Nico," she snapped.

Artemis smiled widely. "You will be a good lieutenant, daughter of Zeus."

"I prefer Thalia, my lady," Thalia returned, as respectfully as she could.

Zeus narrowed his eyes. "Being a child of mine is a great honor, Thalia."

Hera snorted. "Of course it is."

**But I couldn't think. Something told me that in the myth Medusa had been asleep when she was attacked by my namesake, Perseus. She wasn't anywhere near asleep now. If she wanted, she could take those talons right now and rake open my face. **

**"The Gray-Eyed One did this to me, Percy," Medusa said, and she didn't sound anything like a monster. Her voice invited me to look up, to sympathize with a poor old grandmother. "Annabeth's mother, the cursed Athena, turned me from a beautiful woman into this."**

"She was quite beautiful," Poseidon mused thoughtfully.

Athena glared simultaneously at him and at the book. "I am _not_ 'the cursed Athena'. And don't I know it. You didn't need to show me what you thought of her."

Hermes grinned wickedly at her. "Is poor little Athena _jealous_ of Medusa?"

Poseidon smirked at her.

"I'd rather not be a feared monster with snake for hair and eyes that turn mortals to stone, Hermes," Athena responded dryly.

"Oh, that's not what my dear half-brother was implying, darling half-sister of mine," Apollo jumped in,

"And what exactly was he implying, Apollo?" Athena asked innocently.

"As much as I'd like to see my brother be injured by Athena, shouldn't we read?" Artemis said loudly.

**"Don't listen to her!" Annabeth's voice shouted, somewhere in the statuary. "Run, Percy!"**

**"Silence!" Medusa snarled. Then her voice modulated back to a comforting purr. "You see why I must destroy the girl, Percy. She is my enemy's daughter. I shall crush her statue to dust. **

Athena growled angrily. "Oh, you will do no such thing, Medusa, or I will ensure that you truly _do_ die, like a mortal, and you shall be condemned to eternal punishment in the fields of Tartarus," she threatened.

"That would be my judgment, Athena," Hades cut in.

His niece turned to glare fiercely at him. "And are you suggesting that you will not condemn her to an eternity of punishment?"

Hades flinched. "I was just reminding you."

**But you, dear Percy, you need not suffer."**

**"No," I muttered. I tried to make my legs move. **

**"Do you really want to help the gods?" Medusa asked. "Do you understand what awaits you on this foolish quest, Percy? What will happen if you reach the Underworld? Do not be a pawn of the Olympians, my dear. **

"He would not be our _pawn_!" protested Poseidon loudly. "He's my son, not a pawn!"

"But Lord Poseidon, to be a child of the gods means, essentially, being a pawn," Katie told him.

**You would be better off as a statue. Less pain. Less pain."**

**"Percy!" Behind me, I heard a buzzing sound, like a two-hundred-pound hummingbird in a nosedive. Grover yelled, "Duck!"**

**I turned, and there he was in the night sky, flying in from twelve o'clock with his winged shoes fluttering, Grover, holding a tree branch the size of a baseball bat. His eyes were shut tight, his head twitched from side to side. He was navigating by ears and nose alone. **

Hephaestus smiled. "That will be enough."

Ares groaned. "But if the satyr knocked her out, there would be less WARLIKE occurrences!"

"Wow, you know how to use the word 'occurrences'?" asked Athena.

**"Duck!" he yelled again. "I'll get her!"**

**That finally jolted me into action. Knowing Grover, I was sure he'd miss Medusa and nail me.**

"He has such faith in his friends," Artemis commented sarcastically. "This is why boys are useless creatures."

**I dove to one side. **

_**Thwack!**_

**At first I figured it was the sound of Grover hitting a tree. Then Medusa roared with rage. **

**"You miserable satyr," she snarled. "I'll add you to my collection!"**

**"That was for Uncle Ferdinand!" Grover yelled back. **

"You know, Zeus, he is very brave. I don't see why you don't like him," Hera said to her husband conversationally.

Zeus sputtered. "_Don't like him_? He was the one who got my daughter killed!"

Hera smiled in satisfaction. "Exactly why I like him all the more."

Thalia growled at the Queen of the Gods. "Shut the Tartarus up, Hera."

"You do not want to play that game with me, little girl."

"_Hera, be quiet_!" yelled Zeus.

"If I had only been Hera, I might have bowed to your wishes. But as there are Romans in the room, there is some Juno in me, so-"

"Yet I ordered you to stay in Greek form. _Now be quiet_! Artemis, read!"

**I scrambled away and hid in the statuary while Grover swooped down for another pass. **

_**Ker-whack!**_

**"Arrgh!" Medusa yelled, her snake-hair hissing and spitting. **

**Right next to me, Annabeth's voice said, "Percy!"**

**I jumped so high my feet nearly cleared a garden gnome. "Jeez! Don't do that!"**

**Annabeth took off her Yankees cap and became visible. "You have to cut her head off."**

Poseidon groaned. "Of course the dirty work is left to my son."

"His namesake _was_ the original one to cut her head off," Annabeth pointed out. "I was trying to follow history."

**"What? Are you crazy? Let's get out of here."**

**"Medusa is a menace. She's evil. I'd kill her myself, but..." Annabeth swallowed, as if she were about to make a difficult admission. "But you've got the better weapon. Besides, I'd never get close to her. She'd slice me to bits because of my mother.**

"Or because of that," Poseidon added shrewdly, raising an eyebrow at the daughter of Athena.

**You – you've got a chance."**

**"What? I can't-"**

**"Look, do you want her turning more innocent people into statues?"**

**She pointed to a pair of statue lovers, a man and a woman with their arms around each other, turned to stone by the monster. **

**Annabeth grabbed a green gazing ball from a nearby pedestal. "A polished shield would be better. " She studied the sphere critically. "The convexity will cause some distortion. The reflection's size should be off by a factor of-"**

"Is this really the time for that, Annabeth?" Travis asked.

"Yeah, no one talks like that when they're in mortal peril," Connor added.

"If you could talk like that to help us plan pranks, though…"

**"Would you speak English?"**

**"I **_**am**_**!" She tossed me the glass ball. "Just look at her in the glass. **_**Never**_** look at her directly."**

**"Hey, guys!" Grover yelled somewhere above us. "I think she's unconscious!"**

**"**_**Roooaaarrr**_**!"**

**"Maybe not," Grover corrected. **

Several people laughed.

**He went in for another pass with the tree branch. **

**"Hurry," Annabeth told me. "Grover's got a great nose, but he'll eventually crash."**

**I took out my pen and uncapped it. The bronze blade of Riptide elongated in my hand. **

**I followed the hissing and spitting sounds of Medusa's hair. **

**I kept my eyes locked on the gazing ball so I would only glimpse Medusa's reflection, not the real thing. Then, in the green tinted glass, I saw her. **

**Grover was coming in for another turn at bat, but this time he flew a little too low. Medusa grabbed the stick and pulled him off course. He tumbled through the air and crashed into the arms of a stone grizzly bear with a painful "Ummphh!"**

**Medusa was about to lunge at him when I yelled, "Hey!"**

**I advanced on her, which wasn't easy, holding a sword and a glass ball. If she charged, I'd have a hard time defending myself. **

**But she let me approach – twenty feet, ten feet. **

"Oh, damn," Poseidon murmured, breaking the tense silence that had fallen.

**I could see the reflection of her face now. Surely it wasn't really **_**that **_**ugly. The green swirls of the gazing ball must be distorting it, making it look worse. **

"Oh, she _is_ that ugly," Athena said in self-satisfaction. "I made sure of that."

**"You wouldn't harm an old woman, Percy," she crooned. "I know you wouldn't."**

**I hesitated, fascinated by the face I saw reflected in the glass – the eyes that seemed to burn straight through the green tint, making my arms go weak. **

**From the cement grizzly, Grover moaned, "Percy, don't listen to her!"**

**Medusa cackled. "Too late."**

**She lunged at me with her talons. **

**I slashed up with my sword, heard a sickening **_**shlock!**_**, then a hiss like wind rushing out of a cavern-the sound of a monster disintegrating.**

Poseidon let out a long sigh. "Oh, thank the gods."

"You're welcome," Apollo returned cheekily.

**Something fell to the ground next to my foot. It took all my willpower not to look. I could feel warm ooze soaking into my sock, little dying snake heads tugging at my shoelaces. **

Aphrodite wrinkled her nose. "That is very disgusting."

Demeter shook her head. "Maybe if that monster had eaten some more cereal, she'd have turned out better."

"Oh, no, Lady Demeter. I made sure that she would be miserable," Athena answered, grinning wickedly. "No amount of cereal could change that.

Demeter gasped indignantly. "Did you just insult cereal?"

Quickly, Athena replied, "No!"

**"Oh, yuck," Grover said. His eyes were still tightly closed, but I guess he could hear the thing gurgling and steaming. "Mega-yuck."**

**Annabeth came up next to me, her eyes fixed on the sky. She was holding Medusa's black veil. She said, "Don't move."**

**Very, very carefully, without looking down, she knelt and draped the monster's head in black cloth, then picked it up. It was still dripping green juice. **

Hestia looked mildly disgusted. "That is a very… unnecessary description."

**"Are you okay?" she asked me, her voice trembling.**

**"Yeah," I decided, though I felt like throwing up my double cheeseburger. "Why didn't... why didn't the head evaporate?"**

**"Once you sever it, it becomes a spoil of war," she said. "Same as your minotaur horn. But don't unwrap the head. It can still petrify you."**

"So now he has two spoils of war? Before his first quest even _ended_?" asked Hazel enviously.

"Percy's life was never dull," Katie said, in a way of an answer.

**Grover moaned as he climbed down from the grizzly statue. He had a big welt on his forehead. His green rasta cap hung from one of his little goat horns, and his fake feet had been knocked off his hooves. The magic sneakers were flying aimlessly around his head. **

**"The Red Baron," I said. "Good job, man."**

**He managed a bashful grin. "That really was **_**not**_** fun, though. Well, the hitting-her-with-a-stick part, that was fun. But crashing into a concrete bear? **_**Not**_** fun."**

**He snatched his shoes out of the air. I recapped my sword. Together, the three of us stumbled back to the warehouse. **

**We found some old plastic grocery bags behind the snack counter and double-wrapped Medusa's head. We plopped it on the table where we'd eaten dinner and sat around it, too exhausted to speak. **

**Finally I said, "So we have Athena to thank for this monster?"**

"It was him!" argued Athena, pointing accusingly at Poseidon.

**Annabeth flashed me an irritated look. "Your dad, actually. Don't you remember? Medusa was Poseidon's girlfriend. **

"She was _not my girlfriend_!" yelled Poseidon irritably.

**They decided to meet in my mother's temple. That's why Athena turned her into a monster. **

"And why didn't you punish Poseidon instead of the poor mortal?" asked Piper.

Athena flushed a deep red. "Well, I-"

Poseidon rolled his eyes. "Because I could unleash the worst of the monsters from the depths of the sea to hunt her for eternity. All she could do is send owls after me. Not very threatening."

**Medusa and her two sisters who had helped her get into the temple, they became the three gorgons. That's why Medusa wanted to slice me up, but she wanted to preserve you as a nice statue. She's still sweet on your dad. You probably reminded her of him."**

Poseidon flinched. "That's not a good thing."

**My face was burning. "Oh, so now it's **_**my**_** fault we met Medusa."**

**Annabeth straightened. In a bad imitation of my voice, she said: "'It's just a photo, Annabeth. What's the harm?'"**

**"Forget it," I said. "You're impossible."**

**"You're insufferable."**

**"You're-"**

Aphrodite smiled dreamily. "They're such a perfect couple…"

"Er, Lady Venus? They're kind of… _fighting_," pointed out Reyna.

Aphrodite smiled at her, flickering to her Roman form before coming back. "Like an old married couple," she added.

**"Hey!" Grover interrupted. "You two are giving me a migraine, and satyrs don't even **_**get **_**migraines. What are we going to do with the head?"**

**I stared at the thing. One little snake was hanging out of a hole in the plastic. The words printed on the side of the bag said: WE APPRECIATE YOUR BUSINESS!**

**I was angry, not just with Annabeth or her mom, but with all the gods for this whole quest, for getting us blown off the road and in two major fights the very first day out from camp.**

Frank shook his head. "Does he really anger the gods that much?"

The older Greeks looked at each other and laughed.

"Oh yeah," replied Travis.

**At this rate, we'd never make it to L. A. alive, much less before the summer solstice. **

**What had Medusa said?**

_**Do not be a pawn of the Olympians, my dear. You would be better off as a statue**_**. **

**I got up. "I'll be back."**

**"Percy," Annabeth called after me. "What are you-"**

"What _is_ he doing?" asked Poseidon.

**I searched the back of the warehouse until I found Medusa's office. Her account book showed her six most recent sales, all shipments to the Underworld to decorate Hades and Persephone's garden. **

Everyone looked at the mentioned couple.

Hades threw up his hands. "It's more like _her_ garden. I have nothing to do with it, except for paying for the statues."

Persephone smiled at him brightly, then looked at everyone else. "What? Her statues are quite good." She blanched. "But that was _before_ I found out that they are stoned mortals."

**According to one freight bill, the Underworld's billing address was DOA Recording Studios, West Hollywood, California. I folded up the bill and stuffed it in my pocket. **

"You've gotta admit that was smart," remarked Hazel.

Reyna nodded in agreement. "Very. At least our praetor isn't _completely_ stupid, right?" she asked teasingly.

**In the cash register I found twenty dollars, a few golden drachmas, and some packing slips for Hermes Overnight Express,**

Hermes cringed. "That's my least favorite express. Morning and afternoon I'm perfectly fine with, but why can't I get my sleep?"

"Because you're the messenger. You don't need your beauty sleep," teased Apollo.

**each with a little leather bag attached for coins. I rummaged around the rest of the office until I found the right-size box.**

**I went back to the picnic table, packed up Medusa's head, and filled out a delivery slip:**

**The Gods**

**Mount Olympus**

**600****th**** Floor,**

**Empire State Building**

**New York, NY**

**With best wishes,**

**PERCY JACKSON**

The whole room fell silent in shock. Annabeth was the only one who smiled slightly, looking up at the ceiling.

"That- that boy dares to defy us?" demanded Zeus.

Hera chuckled. "The boy has some guts. I wonder, though, what my reaction will be. I'm sure I don't approve of him in the future. Well, in _our_ future I suppose I will, but in _this_ future I won't.

Leo looks at her in utter confusion. "What?"

"Sea spawn takes after his father," spat Athena. "How dare he send us that monster's head? I have no wish to see it again."

"Oh, but aren't you _proud_ of your creation?" taunted Poseidon with a smirk.

"Jackson has quite the talent for pissing off the gods," Jason commented. "I'm not sure if that's a good thing."

Annabeth looked away from the ceiling and gave the Roman a small smile. "Jason… thank you. Thank you for giving Seaweed Brain a chance."

Reyna also smiled at Jason. "You should respect him, you know, Jason. He _is_ the co-praetor of Camp Jupiter."

"And a pretty good one too," added Hazel.

Octavian sniffed. "He doesn't approve of my stuffed animals and he's a _graceus_. That's a double strike. _I'd_ do a better job."

Rachel snorted. "As what? An idiot?"

"Shut up, _Oracle_. My way of giving prophecies is so much better. Don't insult your superiors," retorted Octavian, turning up his nose. "You're doing wrong mixing with those _Greeks_."

The mortal girl glared so fiercely at him, fire seemed to shoot out of her eyes. "I'm pretty sure that Lord Apollo would be on my side, _Octavian_, not yours. And people would rather hear _real_ prophecies issued by the _spirit of Delphi_, not from some stuffed-animal-slaying-insane legacy of Apollo."

Apollo nodded. "I would be on Rachel's side! Because she's a whole lot better of an Oracle than that mummy girl was." He shivered. "That was creepy."

"At least you didn't have to go up there to receive a prophecy," shuddered Annabeth.

**"They're not going to like that," Grover warned. "They'll think you're impertinent."**

Percy's friends all laughed.

"He _is_ impertinent," Frank said.

"You know what that means?" asked Hazel teasingly, looking taken aback.

"Shut it, Levesque," growled Frank playfully.

Hazel grinned. "As you wish, Zhang."

Hades narrowed his eyes at his daughter, flicking briefly to Pluto. Was she… _involved_ with the son of Mars?

Ares also eyed his kid. He couldn't be involved with the girl. She was too… _weak-looking_ for a kid of his to pursue. But then again, the kid wasn't the bulkiest or most dangerous looking of the bunch either, not like his Clarisse…

**I poured some golden drachmas in the pouch. As soon as I closed it, there was a sound like a cash register. The package floated off the table and disappeared with a **_**pop!**_

Hermes grinned. "Thanks, Uncle P! At least your kid decides to pay me! Some people don't bother to pay me and insist that I deliver their package! I mean, how disrespectful is that? I don't prance around carrying heavy loads for _free_!" He shot a glance in the direction of his father.

Zeus shrugged. "I do pay you. Sometimes," he replied.

Hermes rolled his eyes. "My mother should have thought about the fate of her son when she decided to, er, _procreate_ with you."

Hera scowled. "Don't test me, Hermes."

Hermes shrugged and grinned cheekily. "At least I'm not Iris. Poor goddess."

**"I **_**am**_** impertinent," I said. **

"Wait, _Percy_ knows that word?" asked Annabeth, giggling. "I wasn't expecting that."

Reyna chuckled. "I looked that word up when I was six in both the dictionary and thesaurus. One of the antonyms is _respectful_."

Annabeth also laughed. "The complete _antonym_ of Percy."

Poseidon cringed slightly. Being disrespectful didn't exactly bode well with the Olympians. Just look at what Athena did to Arachne and Medusa for being _disrespectful_.

**I looked at Annabeth, daring her to criticize. **

Athena shook her head. "Daughter, you should have taken up the dare."

Annabeth looked surprised. "How did you know that I wouldn't?"

Her mother shrugged. "Call it mother's intuition. It sucks sometimes, but we all have it, don't we?"

The other goddesses nodded in agreement.

"Wait- did you just say the word '_sucks_'?" demanded Hermes, gasping dramatically.

Athena looked at him. "I'm not _that_ prudish!"

Apollo arched an eyebrow. "Are you sure of that?"

"Boys, leave Athena alone," snapped Zeus.

Athena beamed at him. "Thank you, Father!"

Hera glared at Hermes. "You certainly are your father's son. You are _so_ dramatic."

"Well, obviously you fit well with Zeus," joked Poseidon. "You're pretty dramatic too, Hera."

"Look how well our marriage turned out," snapped Hera.

**She didn't. She seemed resigned to the fact that I had a major talent for ticking off the gods. **

"Oh yeah," said Katie, "his talent is quite major."

**"Come on," she muttered. "We need a new plan."**

"What happened to _Athena always has a plan_?" Nico teased Annabeth.

Annabeth, scowling, returned, "She _does_! Just not always a _backup_ plan."

Thalia rolled her eyes. "That's a whole lot safer."

"Since Percy's not here, are you resigned to teasing me?" asked Annabeth, pouting.

Artemis decided to interrupt their banter by saying, "The chapter is over. A quite eventful chapter at that. Who would like to read next?"

Thalia, recovering from Annabeth's last question, raised her hand. "I would like to, if no one objects?"

No one raised an objection, though Octavian did mumble under his breath about a _filthy graceus_, to which Thalia shot him a fierce glare.

"Here you are, my lieutenant," Artemis said, tossing the book to Thalia.

Thalia caught it. "Thank you, my lady." She paused before opening the book. "But I think you should stick to calling Zoë _my lieutenant_ for now. I don't feel right stripping her of the title while she is still alive."

Artemis, smiling, nodded.

x.o.x.o.x.

A/N: So there you are! Another chapter! Keep those reviews coming! ;) I'm glad you enjoy this! I start school tomorrow, so updates won't be as frequent. :/ Until next time…


	13. We Get Advice from a Poodle

A/N: Hey, I'm back! School's been… well, school. But the first day wasn't bad, I guess. Anyway, enough with talk about my school and more about the demigods and gods and Oracle and that stuffed-animal-demolisher. 

x.o.x.o.x.

**We Get Advice from a Poodle**, began Thalia.

"From a poodle?" repeated Nico, raising an eyebrow.

Thalia shrugged in return. "That's what it says on here."

"Just read, Thals. We should be used to the odd chapter titles by now," said Annabeth, smirking.

**We were pretty miserable that night. **

Katie rolled her eyes. "You don't say!"

"I wouldn't be miserable! That was some exciting warlike stuff that happened there!" Clarisse contradicted, pumping her fist.

Ares nodded proudly. "That's my girl!"

**We camped out in the woods, a hundred yards from the main road, in a marshy clearing that local kids had obviously been using for parties. The ground was littered with flattened soda cans and fast-food wrappers. **

Demeter sniffed disapprovingly. "Those kids are so disrespectful to the earth. They should _not_ litter!"

"They're probably teenagers, Demeter, and it's no use trying to tell a teenager anything," Zeus reminded her.

"Hey!" protested Nico.

"Most of us are teenagers, Lord Zeus," Will pointed out. "And we're pretty civilized."

**We'd taken some food and blankets from Aunty Em's, **

Hermes beamed proudly. "None of my kids are on that quest, but still, I'm so proud!" He wiped a fake tear from his face dramatically. "Learning how to steal!"

"Uh… Hermes?" asked Artemis sweetly. "I don't think it's exactly stealing when the owner has her head cut off."

Her half-brother waved her off. "It's still stealing! And I should know. I'm the God of Thieves!"

Athena snorted. "We don't expect you to know anything, Hermes."

"I'm hurt!" gasped Hermes, putting a hand to his heart.

**but we didn't dare light a fire to dry our damp clothes. The Furies and Medusa had provided enough excitement for one day. We didn't want to attract anything else. **

"Very wise," commented Hera.

Athena smiled. "It was probably my daughter's idea, _Stepmother_. She's the wisest of the three."

"Don't call me 'Stepmother'!" snarled Hera.

"And actually, Mother, Seaweed Brain came up with the idea not to light a fire," Annabeth added, not sparing a glance toward the Queen of the Gods.

**We decided to sleep in shifts. I volunteered to take first watch.**

"So sweet, offering to take the first watch so that his friends can sleep," cooed Aphrodite.

Athena rolled her eyes. "It isn't a very _heroic_ thing to do, Aphrodite."

"But it's _sweet_!" Aphrodite replied.

"I think heroics are better than sweetness."

Aphrodite shrugged, unfazed. "Good thing no pays you to be the Goddess of Love, then! Because we goddesses of love just _love_ sweet things!"

"Clearly," muttered Athena.

**Annabeth curled up on the blankets and was snoring as soon as her head hit the ground. Grover fluttered with his flying shoes to the lowest bough of a tree, put his back to the trunk, and stared at the night sky. **

Artemis grinned. "Oh, the night sky. My favorite kind of sky."

Apollo pouted and argued, "No! The daylight is better! Then you can see my awesome sun!"

"No way, little bro. You can't see the stars during the day," Artemis retorted.

"I'm _not_ your little brother!" Apollo yelled, frustrated. Then a smile spread across his face. "Did you just use _slang_, little sis?"

"Oh, shut up!"

"**Go ahead and sleep," I told him. "I'll wake you if there's trouble."**

**He nodded, but still didn't close his eyes. "It makes me sad, Percy."**

Dionysus snorted. "Those satyrs are so sad all the time. I wonder why."

"Maybe because they have to deal with _him_ as their boss," Travis whispered to Connor, who stifled a laugh.

"**What does? The fact that you signed up for this stupid quest?"**

Zeus looked offended. "The quest isn't _stupid_! You're trying to get my master bolt back!"

"Oh, by all means, leave the bolt and just save Sally Jackson. Then maybe he'll pay more attention to me than polishing and loving that bolt," Hera said sharply.

"I don't blame him," mumbled Annabeth to herself.

"**No. **_**This**_** makes me sad." He pointed at all the garbage on the ground. **

Demeter smiled happily. "That is one satyr who has his heart in the right place. And that litter really _is_ terrible."

"**And the sky. You can't even see the stars. **

Artemis gasped in disappointment. "Excuse me? But the stars are the best part of the night – aside from the moon, of course."

"And in the future, I don't know how I would feel if I couldn't see Zoë's constellation up there," Thalia murmured so that only Annabeth and Nico could hear.

**They've polluted the sky. This is a terrible time to be a satyr."**

"**Oh, yeah. I guess you'd be an environmentalist."**

The Wine God smiled dryly. "That won't please him."

**He glared at me. "Only a human wouldn't be. **

"What's wrong with being a human?" asked Jason indignantly.

"Little brats," replied Dionysus.

Zeus raised an eyebrow at him and he shrank back.

"That wasn't even an answer," Athena told Dionysus.

His father's look warned him against retorting.

**Your species is clogging up the world so fast... **

"We are not _clogging up the world_!" protested Hazel irritably.

"That's exactly why you shouldn't trust a satyr and stick to fauns," Octavian answered haughtily.

"They're the _same thing_," Frank snapped at him.

"Oh, be quiet!" Reyna scolded them.

**ah, never mind. It's useless to lecture a human. **

"Good to know Grover loves us," Connor said sarcastically.

**At the rate things are going, I'll never find Pan."**

"So optimistic," commented Piper.

"**Pam? Like the cooking spray?"**

"This Percy dude is _awesome_!" cheered Leo. "I like any guy that can confuse the god Pan with the cooking spray _Pam_!"

Annabeth chuckled. "You would, wouldn't you, Leo?"

Hermes, however, looked offended. "My son shouldn't be compared with a _cooking spray_!"

"**Pan!" he cried indignantly. "P-A-N. The great god Pan! What do you think I want a searcher's license for?"**

"It couldn't be so he could search, can it?" asked Apollo sarcastically.

**A strange breeze rustled through the clearing, temporarily overpowering the stink of trash and muck. It brought the smell of berries and wildflowers and clean rainwater, things that might've once been in these woods. Suddenly I was nostalgic for something I'd never known. **

Annabeth frowned. "I wish I had been awake for that. It would have been literally a breath of fresh air from the monster stuff."

"**Tell me about the search," I said. **

"He's such a caring friend," observed Hestia with a warm smile. "You can't go wrong with friendliness and loyalty."

Hera laughed. "I didn't think it was possible for Poseidon to have a friendly and loyal child, all in one."

Poseidon looked at her indignantly. "Glad to know you think so highly of me, dear sister," he responded dryly.

Hera smiled at him.

**Grover looked at me cautiously, as if he were afraid I was just making fun. **

Katie shook her head. "Percy would never make fun of something Grover takes so seriously."

"Or if it's something the rest of us take seriously either," added Nico.

"**The God of Wild Places disappeared two thousand years ago," **

"It's good to know satyrs have been so dedicated to Pan for so long," remarked Hermes quietly.

Apollo patted his arm comfortingly with a bright smile.

**he told me. "A sailor off the coast of Ephesos heard a mysterious voice crying out from the shore, 'Tell them that the great god ****Pan has died!' **

"Terrible how they found out," mourned Demeter.

**When humans heard the news, they believed it. **

"Of course they did. Mortals are so easily manipulated," sniffed Dionysus.

"Or it could just be the use of your Mist," snapped Rachel irritably. "Thanks for the compliment, by the way."

**They've been pillaging Pan's kingdom ever since. **

"That's terrible," sympathized Piper sadly.

**But for the satyrs, Pan was our lord and master. **

"They're, like, _obsessed_ with him," Dionysus groaned.

"He sounded like a girl," Nico hissed to Annabeth and Thalia.

Thalia stifled a giggle before turning back to the book.

**He protected us and the wild places of the earth. We refuse to believe that he died. **

"Maybe because gods can't die?" suggested Leo.

Hephaestus smiled gruffly at his son. "Oh, but we can." He didn't go any further than that, leaving mystery in his son's messed-up mind.

**In every generation, the bravest satyrs pledge their lives to finding Pan. **

"There are brave satyrs?" wisecracked Dionysus.

Zeus glared at him again. "Will you be more respectful and likeable?"

"Dionysus? Likeable? I no speak your language," Athena told her father.

**They search the earth, exploring all the wildest places, hoping to find where he is hidden, and wake him from his sleep."**

"**And you want to be a searcher."**

"**It's my life's dream," **

"Funny how a satyr's life dream is to be a searcher and for a mortal, it could be to own their own empire," Persephone commented.

Poseidon raised an eyebrow at her. "Do you know a mortal who has that dream, Seph?"

Persephone shook her head. "But it's true." She looked at Rachel. "Who is your father, Rachel?"

Rachel shifted uncomfortably. "Nobody," she answered quickly, "but he's very wealthy."

"Empire-owning wealthy?"

"I guess so…"

Persephone smiled triumphantly. "See? Some mortals just care about the cash."

"That is _so_ off topic," Nico muttered.

"Don't say that. They could hear you. Then your stepmother and Demeter won't exactly be _happy_," Thalia reminded him, hiding a smile.

**he said. "My father was a searcher. And my Uncle Ferdinand... the statue you saw back there-"**

"I can't believe he got turned to stone," remarked Apollo, turning to look pointedly at Athena.

The goddess shrugged. "What? I just did what came to my mind. And I was so angry, I couldn't think."

"With your lack of a brain, I doubt you can _ever_ think," teased Poseidon.

"Oh, shut up, Fish Brains!"

Zeus sighed. "Leave my daughter alone, Poseidon."

"Yes, why can't we have a normal family where the uncle doesn't fight daily with his niece?" Hades jumped in.

Everyone looked at him weirdly.

"That just makes it weirder, Lord Hades," stated Thalia, "seeing as you're married to _your_ niece. And Father is married to his _sister_. And he had a child with his _sister_. The list goes on and on…"

"And a normal family?" Hera laughed sarcastically. "_That's_ sure to happen."

"**Oh, right, sorry."**

**Grover shook his head. "Uncle Ferdinand knew the risks. So did my dad. But I'll succeed. I'll be the first searcher to return alive."**

"**Hang on – **_**the first**_**?"**

Hermes nodded. "The first in two thousand years. But since no satyr has ever succeeded, I don't think Grover, though I admire his spirit and perseverance, will succeed either."

Apollo gaped at his half-brother. "Did you just say something _reasonable_ and _serious_?" he demanded.

Laughing, Artemis answered, "Some, unlike you, have brains and the capability to speak the English language."

"I _am_ speaking the English language!"

"Oh, pardon me. I meant speak it _well_ and _clearly_."

"_DAAAA-AAAD_!" Apollo whined. "Arty is annoying me!"

Zeus sighed loudly, rubbing his temples. "Stop aggravating your brother, Artemis. And Apollo, quit your whining. It's already giving me a headache."

**Grover took his reed pipes out of his pocket. "No searcher has ever come back. Once they set out, they disappear. They're never seen alive again."**

"Which is unfortunate, because then any satyr leaving from our camp is one satyr lost," Annabeth said quietly.

"**Not once in two thousand years?"**

"Nope," answered Hermes, popping the 'p'.

"**No."**

"**And your dad? You have no idea what happened to him?"**

"**None."**

Thalia paused, looking up from the page. "Poor Grover. My father isn't exactly involved with my life, but I know who he is, and that he's fine," she commented, glancing at Zeus.

Zeus smiled slightly back at her, but dropped the smile the moment Hera looked over.

His daughter sighed softly, but went back to the words.

"**But you still want to go," I said, amazed. "I mean, you really think you'll be the one to find Pan?"**

"Every searcher has to believe that. Every searcher has to have that faith in himself," Will said. Seeing everyone's look, he defended himself, "What? Grover told me that!"

"**I have to believe that, Percy. Every searcher does. It's the only thing that keeps us from despair when we look at what humans have done to the world. **

"Love you too, Grover," Annabeth said sarcastically.

"But he's right! You humans have littered all over the place and polluted more than I thought was possible!" Demeter replied.

"At least she isn't ranting about cereal," Hades muttered to Poseidon, who grinned.

**I have to believe Pan can still be awakened."**

**I stared at the orange haze of the sky and tried to understand how Grover could pursue a dream that seemed so hopeless. **

"It isn't a bad thing. It's natural," stated Artemis softly.

"And he _is_ going to try to challenge _me_ to get his mother back," added Hades.

**Then again, was I any better?**

"**How are we going to get into the Underworld?" I asked him. "I mean, what chance do we have against a god?"**

Hades smirked arrogantly. "Exactly. You have no chance against me whatsoever!"

Persephone frowned. "Too bad that it's going to be the _summer_ solstice deadline and not the _winter_, because if it were the latter, I could be there to stop him from killing your son, Lord Poseidon."

"What? Why won't you let me kill him?" whined Hades.

"Because he's a good demigod. You hate all heroes. Like Hera," Persephone told him.

"**I don't know," he admitted. "But back at Medusa's, when you were searching her office? Annabeth was telling me-"**

"**Oh, I forgot. Annabeth will have a plan all figured out."**

"Oh, like _you_ do?" asked Athena angrily.

"Mother," Annabeth warned warily.

"Their conversations are starting to sound like Demeter and Persephone's," Hades stage-whispered to his brothers.

"**Don't be so hard on her, Percy. She's had a tough life, but she's a good person. After all, she forgave me..."**

"Oh no. He let it slip," sighed Thalia, almost dropping the book as her hands trembled.

Jason looked at her in concern. "What?"

Thalia shook her head and lifted the book up, lowering her eyes. "Nothing."

**His voice faltered. **

"**What do you mean?" I asked. "Forgave you for what?"**

"Don't press him, Percy," begged Annabeth. "I can't believe I was asleep and missed all this."

**Suddenly, Grover seemed very interested in playing notes on his pipes. **

"**Wait a minute," I said. **

Nico groaned. "He's going to push it."

"Darn," muttered Thalia and Annabeth in unison.

"**Your first keeper job was five years ago. **

Annabeth arched an eyebrow. "He's figuring it out…"

**Annabeth has been at camp five years. She wasn't... I mean, your first assignment that went wrong-"**

Athena looked at Annabeth in worry. "Is he right, daughter? Did you come close to death?"

Annabeth shook her head at her mother. "I'm sorry, Mother. I can't tell you any information that we don't learn from these books about the future… at least, not until we finish all of them."

"**I can't talk about it," Grover said, and his quivering lower lip suggested he'd start crying if I pressed him. **

Thalia and Annabeth looked sad.

"He should know that it wasn't his fault," murmured Thalia, dropping the book into her lap and clasping her hands together.

"It wasn't," Annabeth agreed, prying Thalia's hands apart and gripping one with her own hand.

Zeus snorted. "You foolish demigod _friends_."

Thalia glared at him forcefully. "It _wasn't_ his fault, Father! How many times _must_ I repeat that to drill it through your skull?"

"A million more, my Huntress," Artemis spoke. "Our father has quite the thick skull."

The King of the Gods looked at both his daughters sternly. "You _will_ be quiet or I will have you personally thrown off Olympus itself."

"What a good couple you and Mother make," commented Hephaestus. "Since she threw me off Olympus as well."

"**But as I was saying, back at Medusa's, Annabeth and I agreed there's something strange going on with this quest. Something isn't what it seems."**

"Hey, that sounds like that Selena Gomez song!" Rachel exclaimed.

Thalia, processing this, nodded enthusiastically. "Kind of!"

Nico looked at them oddly.

"You don't know who Selena Gomez is?" gasped Thalia.

"I'm not a teenage girl," Nico said, "_nor_ an _immortal_ teenage girl."

"**Well, duh. I'm getting blamed for stealing a thunderbolt that Hades took."**

Both Nico and Hades scowled.

"I didn't take it!" Hades protested. "Why does everyone automatically suspect me?"

"Because you're the easiest to suspect," Athena replied.

Nico scowled more fiercely. "The least suspicious person is whom you should suspect first and foremost."

Athena rethought this, and then nodded slowly, appraising the son of Hades carefully. "Very wise, son of Hades, very wise indeed…"

"**That's not what I mean," Grover said. "The Fur – The Kindly Ones were sort of holding back. Like Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy... why did she wait so long to try to kill you? Then on the bus, they just weren't as aggressive as they could've been."**

Poseidon arched both his eyebrows. "Not as aggressive as they could've been?" he repeated. "So nearly killing my son isn't aggressive enough?"

Hades rolled his eyes. "Trust me, brother, Alecto and her sisters could become _very_ violent, tenfold of what they showed."

"**They seemed plenty aggressive to me."**

"Percy agrees with me!" cheered Poseidon.

**Grover shook his head. "They were screeching at us: 'Where is it? Where?'"**

As the line was read aloud, Athena gasped. "Where is _it_? Not _he_! They're asking about an _object_!"

"Wow, what a discovery," Poseidon answered dryly.

"Unless you're calling Uncle P's kid an _it_," Apollo cheekily put in.

"My son is not an _it_, Apollo," snapped Poseidon.

"Whoa, chill, Uncle P!"

"**Asking about me," I said. **

"No, not exactly," Annabeth answered slowly.

"**Maybe... but Annabeth and I, we both got the feeling they weren't asking about a person. They said 'Where is **_**it**_**?' **

Athena smiled. "The satyr is catching on."

"At least he isn't _completely_ useless," muttered Zeus.

**They seemed to be asking about an object."**

"Exactly," Artemis said in satisfaction.

"**That doesn't make sense."**

"But apparently it doesn't make much sense to sea spawn," Athena commented.

Poseidon groaned. "Oh, for gods' sakes, Olive-Obsessed-Oddball! Can't you get a _little_ creative with the 'insulting' nicknames? The same old ones are getting _so_ annoying."

"**I know. But if we've misunderstood something about this quest, and we only have nine days to find the master bolt..." He looked at me like he was hoping for answers, but I didn't have any. **

"Of course he didn't," mumbled Athena, still stinging from Poseidon's last comment.

**I thought about what Medusa had said: I was being used by the gods. **

"And dear Zeus! He _isn't_ being _used_!" exclaimed Poseidon.

Zeus smirked. "Glad to know you love me, brother."

"Oh, be quiet!"

**What lay ahead of me was worse than petrification. **

"Doesn't that sound delighting?" asked Frank, his eyes full of mirth.

"Stop with the sarcasm," hissed Hazel. "Sarcasm is _so_ unappealing."

"All right, daughter of Venus," Frank teased.

"I take offense!" Piper yelled over to them, with a grin firmly in place.

"**I haven't been straight with you," I told Grover. "I don't care about the master bolt. **

Zeus gasped. "WHAT? The ungrateful, shouldn't-even-be-there boy doesn't respect or care for my precious master bolt?"

Finally, Hera snapped. "Just _shut the Hades up_, Zeus! We _know_ that that bolt is the most precious thing you've ever and will ever own in your immortal existence! There's no need to repeat that_ every single time_ it's brought up, whether in the book or not!"

Her husband looked shocked, but he fell silent.

**I agreed to go to the Underworld so I could bring back my mother."**

Aphrodite smiled. "Aw, isn't he sweet?"

Persephone nodded in agreement. "It's so sweet to hear of a boy his age appreciating and loving his mother like he does."

"It's impossible not to love Sally," Annabeth put in, smiling at Poseidon, who had nodded eagerly in agreement.

**Grover blew a soft note on his pipes. "I know that, Percy. But are you sure that's the only reason?"**

"He's using his emotion-reading skills, isn't he?" inquired Aphrodite.

Athena gasped, shocked. "Wow, you actually _figured something out_ that didn't have to do with makeup or perfume or the works!"

"**I'm not doing it to help my father. He doesn't care about me. I don't care about him."**

Poseidon flinched, taking the blow both mentally and physically.

Noticing this, the other 'Big Three' kids and Annabeth looked at him sympathetically.

"Don't worry, Lord Poseidon. He loves you," Annabeth assured him.

Thalia nodded. "He does, Lord. Loves you like a father, Percy does."

"Like a normal father, not a godly one," added Nico with a smile.

The Sea God smiled warmly at his niece, nephew, and Annabeth. "Thank you," he responded quietly and sincerely.

**Grover gazed down from his tree branch. "Look, Percy, I'm not as smart as Annabeth. I'm not as brave as you. **

"Poor satyr. He must feel overshadowed by the wise daughter of Athena and the brave son of Poseidon," murmured Demeter sadly. "And after he cared so much about the pollution and littering of the earth."

**But I'm pretty good at reading emotions. You're glad your dad is alive. **

"More than alive, actually," Hermes chuckled, winking at his uncle.

Poseidon laughed, feeling relief flow through him.

**You feel good that he's claimed you, and part of you wants to make him proud. **

Will smiled sadly. "That's what we all want. We all want our godly parent to be just as proud of us as our mortal parent is. It isn't abnormal."

Clarisse shrugged. "I couldn't care less what my dad thinks. I JUST WANT DANGER!" she yelled.

Instead of feeling offended, Ares nodded along enthusiastically. "Your mother raised you right, Clarisse! You are truly my daughter!"

"Is that a good thing?" Frank murmured to Hazel, who covered her smile.

Meanwhile, the other gods and goddesses were pondering what Will had just disclosed to them.

**That's why you mailed Medusa's head to Olympus. You wanted him to notice what you'd done."**

"And for the purpose of showing us that he is _impertinent_," Hera said, but there was a fond smile on her face as she said it.

"**Yeah? Well maybe satyr emotions work differently than human emotions. **

Katie flinched. "Ooh, that was harsh."

"He wasn't thinking," Poseidon defended his son.

**Because you're wrong. I don't care what he thinks."**

"Okay… that _was_ harsh," Poseidon said after a brief pause.

Some of the demigods let out a nervous laugh or two.

**Grover pulled his feet up onto the branch. "Okay, Percy. Whatever."**

"**Besides, I haven't done anything worth bragging about. We barely got out of New York and we're stuck here with no money and no way west."**

Octavian smirked. "If he had had proper _Roman_ training, then he would have been in Los Angeles within the next day without any trouble."

Reyna raised an eyebrow. "I'm proud of our training, Octavian, don't get me wrong, but that is stretching the truth a whole _lot_. Sure, there would be less trouble, and it would probably be in less time, but not in the _next day_ without _any_ trouble."

"You need to deflate your head a bit," added Hazel. "It's really annoying to have to deal with you day in and day out, did you know that, Octavian? That's the downside of Camp Jupiter. Camp Half-Blood has Rachel, who is actually sane and fun to talk to."

Rachel beamed. "Thank you, Hazel!"

Reyna also hid a smile, happy that it seemed like one of the Romans was bonding fine with a Greek… kind of. The Greek part, she meant. After all, they shared two things: a wish to overcome Gaea, and the same leader: Percy Jackson. It wouldn't do if they didn't form an alliance.

**Grover looked at the night sky, like he was thinking about that problem. "How about **_**I**_** take first watch, huh? You get some sleep."**

"And then maybe eat a bowl of cereal or two," offered Demeter, "since you'll need it for strength!"

"Shut up about the cereal, woman!" grumbled Hades.

**I wanted to protest, but he started to play Mozart, soft and sweet, and I turned away, my eyes stinging. After a few bars of Piano Concerto no. 12, I was asleep.**

Dionysus chuckled. "Manipulation. The satyrs are almost as good at that as women."

The females in the room automatically turned to glare at him.

"_Excuse_ me?" demanded Artemis.

"Nothing! Nothing! I said _nothing_!"

**In my dreams, **

Leo groaned. "Great! More of Percy's crazy dreams."

"His dreams _are_ more… er, _dramatic_ than other demigods', I guess," Annabeth admitted.

"Dramatic? I suppose Zeus sent them then!" joked Poseidon.

Hestia looked at him, then at Hera and Demeter. "I think all three of our brothers are completely and utterly psycho."

Her sisters nodded almost at once.

"They are," voiced Hera.

"And they need cereal!" chimed in Demeter.

**I stood in a dark cavern before a gaping pit. Gray mist creatures churned all around me, whispering rags of smoke that I somehow knew were the spirits of the dead. **

Hades sat up quickly. "Spirits of the dead?"

**They tugged at my clothes, trying to pull me back, but I felt compelled to walk forward to the very edge of the chasm. **

Now, Hades' eyebrows shot upward. "Why, exactly, are spirits of the dead, _my_ subjects, trying to save a son of _Poseidon_?"

"Because they have brains?" suggested Poseidon.

**Looking down made me dizzy. **

**The pit yawned so wide and was so completely black, I knew it must be bottomless.**

"A bottomless pit?" repeated Athena, her mind going to work.

**Yet I had a feeling that something was trying to rise from the abyss, something huge and evil. **

Annabeth looked down the row of Greeks and hissed, "Kronos?"

None of her friends had an answer for her.

_**The little hero**_**, an amused voice echoed far down in the darkness. **_**Too weak, too young, but perhaps you will do**_**. **

"Too _weak_?" shouted Poseidon indignantly. "No child of mine is WEAK! Not even at a mortal age of twelve!"

**The voice felt ancient – cold and heavy. It wrapped around me like sheets of lead. **

"It _is_ Kronos. I think…" Annabeth trailed off as Thalia read louder than usual to cover her voicing of her suspicions.

_**They have misled you, boy**_**, it said. **_**Barter with me. I will give you what you want**_**. **

Coming to the realization, Poseidon jerked to a straight position. "NO!" he yelled.

"What?" Persephone demanded.

Poseidon waved her off, his eyes intent on the book in Thalia's hands. "Read, Thalia, please!"

Thalia obeyed.

**A shimmering image hovered over the void: my mother, frozen at the moment she'd dissolved in a shower of gold. **

Poseidon and the older Greek demigods all winced.

"That. Is. Not. Pleasant," said Thalia firmly.

Having that image in his mind, Poseidon turned away, keeping his eyes on his trident.

**Her face was distorted with pain, as if the Minotaur were still squeezing her neck.**

"Please, no," whimpered Annabeth. Sally had become a sort of mother to her as well. "I do _not_ need that image."

Athena looked at her curiously. "Are you close to Sally Jackson, Annabeth?"

Her daughter nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah. She's like my mother, almost as much as she is Percy's."

Athena looked kind of sad, but she replied sadly, "That's good…"

**Her eyes looked directly at me, pleading: **_**Go!**_

Poseidon groaned. "Just _go_, Percy! It's a dream, son!"

**I tried to cry out, but my voice wouldn't work. **

"I hate those kinds of dreams," Hazel commeneted.

**Cold laughter echoed from the chasm. **

**An invisible force pulled me forward. It would drag me into the pit unless I stood firm. **

"What?" exclaimed Poseidon. "What is that?"

Athena frowned, thinking carefully. "I have no idea," she said finally.

Poseidon smirked. "You have no idea, huh?"

"Oh, _be quiet_!"

"_So_ original," Poseidon observed dryly.

_**Help me rise, boy.**_** The voice became hungrier. **_**Bring me the bolt. Strike a blow against the treacherous gods!**_

"No! Do not give the bolt to anyone but _me_!" Zeus screamed.

"Dear Zeus, you are _so_ dramatic," groaned Hera.

"Love you too, Hera," Zeus replied.

Hera glared at him. "Oh, because that's _so_ obvious!"

Athena interrupted them. "Can we focus on the more _important_ matter?"

Artemis nodded, leaning over. "This – this _voice_ just called us treacherous!"

Hades rolled his eyes. "Mortals have called us treacherous many a time before."

"Yes, but this is most certainly _not_ a mortal, brother," Demeter jumped in. "I, personally, think it is an enemy."

**The spirits of the dead whispered around me, **_**No! Wake!**_

Hades grumbled, "You shouldn't kill me now, Poseidon. My subjects are trying to keep your son alive."

"Yes, well, you have tried to kill him multiple times," replied Poseidon, waving him off.

**The image of my mother began to fade. The thing in the pit tightened its unseen grip around me. **

"Oh shoot," muttered Poseidon. "Wake up!"

**I realized it wasn't interested in pulling me in. It was using me to pull itself **_**out**_**. **

Annabeth frowned. "Oh… that makes sense. I guess."

_**Good,**_** it murmured. **_**Good.**_

"No, _not_ good," mumbled Nico.

_**Wake!**_** the dead whispered. **_**Wake!**_

"I agree with the dead for once," muttered Poseidon.

**Someone was shaking me. **

"What?" asked Piper.

**My eyes opened, and it was daylight. **

"He wakes up _now_," nodded Frank. "Great timing. Why does it always seem like we sleep straight through nightmares and wake up just as the good part approaches in regular, happy dreams?"

Leo looked at him. "We have happy dreams?" he asked seriously.

Everyone laughed, except Octavian, who had resumed giving the Stoll brothers the stink-eye, because he had nothing else to do.

"**Well," Annabeth said, "the zombie lives."**

"It's a great time to joke, Annabeth," Connor told the girl.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Yeah, Connor, I can read his mind and I know what he dreams of."

Travis smirked. "Yup, you!"

Annabeth flushed. "I do not!"

**I was trembling from the dream. I could still feel the grip of the chasm monster around my chest. "How long was I asleep?"**

"**Long enough for me to cook breakfast." Annabeth tossed me a bag of nacho-flavored corn chips from Aunty Em's snack bar. **

"Yup, that took _so long_ to cook," Clarisse said to Annabeth, rolling her eyes. "You could have been making weapons!"

"Out of what? Leaves? Litter?" Annabeth retorted.

"**And Grover went exploring. Look, he found a friend."**

"An animal," Piper guessed.

"Nah, another satyr, beauty queen. For sure," Leo disagreed.

Piper looked at him. "Aren't satyrs animals?"

Thalia stifled a laugh. "Grover and his satyr friends wouldn't be happy with you saying that, Piper. They're _half_-animal, I guess."

The daughter of Aphrodite shrugged. "Whatever. Want to bet on it, repair boy?"

"Sure thing, beauty queen," Leo returned. "Five golden drachmas and ten bucks."

Rachel arched an eyebrow. "Isn't that a little _much_ for a bet?"

Piper ignored her and shook Leo's hand firmly. "Deal." She smiled smugly. "_I'm_ gonna win!"

"Don't be so confident, beauty queen."

**My eyes had trouble focusing. **

**Grover was sitting cross-legged on a blanket with something fuzzy in his lap, **

"HA!" yelled Piper, holding out her hand.

But Leo shook his head. "Nope. Wait until we're _sure_, Piper, and it's explicitly stated in black and white."

"You know what explicitly means?" teased Annabeth, hiding a smile.

**a dirty, unnaturally pink stuffed animal. **

"Neither of us was right?" Piper questioned in disappointment. She had really wanted to get richer.

Annabeth just smiled mysteriously. "Keep read, Thalia."

**No. It wasn't a stuffed animal. It was a pink poodle. **

"MUHAHA! I WIN!" chanted Piper over and over again, until Leo shut her up by throwing the drachmas and a ten-dollar bill in her direction.

Aphrodite and Hephaestus observed their children's interaction with fond smiles on their faces.

"They would make a good couple," Aphrodite whispered to her husband after rising from her throne to sit by him temporarily.

Hephaestus shook his head, noticing the son of Jupiter had a slight scowl on his face, clearly trying to contain his jealousy. "I think Jupiter's son is your girl's boyfriend, Aphrodite."

Aphrodite pouted. "Maybe so, but I'd have _so much fun_!"

"Meddling in your daughter's love life?" asked Apollo, leaning over.

"Be quiet," hissed Aphrodite. "I don't want her to know!"

**The poodle yapped at me suspiciously. Grover said, "No, he's not."**

"He's talking to the poodle?" asked Poseidon.

**I blinked. "Are you... talking to that thing?"**

Poseidon chuckled as some of his family turned to look at him. "I have many similarities with my sons, especially the demigod ones. And daughters, occasionally, too."

**The poodle growled. **

"And the dog can understand?" asked Reyna, surprised.

Annabeth shrugged. "I guess anyone would get offended if another person called him or her a _thing_."

"Fair point," Reyna replied.

"**This **_**thing**_**," Grover warned, "is our ticket west. Be nice to him."**

Hestia looked surprised. "The poodle is their way west?"

"Apparently," mused Athena.

"And yes, be nice to him!" Thalia added, before reading:

"**You can talk to animals?"**

**Grover ignored the question. **

"Why would he ignore the question?" Hera asked.

"Can't I read more than two lines without getting interrupted?" grumped Thalia.

"**Percy, meet Gladiola. Gladiola, Percy."**

"Gladiola?" repeated Will. "What the Hades kind of name is _that_?"

"Owners call their dogs weird things," Katie answered.

**I stared at Annabeth, figuring she'd crack up at this practical joke they were playing on me, but she looked deadly serious. **

Annabeth nodded. "I _was_ deadly serious. That dog could have been our only way out to L.A."

Nico snorted. "Is that a pun?"

"What?" Annabeth queried.

"You're traveling to the land of the dead and you're _dead_ly serious!"

"**I'm not saying hello to a pink poodle," I said. "Forget it."**

Leo nodded importantly. "Rule number 5158 in the Being a Guy Handbook. _Never_ say hello to a pink poodle."

"**Percy," Annabeth said. "I said hello to the poodle. You say hello to the poodle."**

"Yeah, because that makes _so much_ sense," Clarisse spat.

"It does! Do I _look_ like the kind of girl who would stop on the sidewalk and pet a poodle, let alone _talk_ to it?" Annabeth asked indignantly.

**The poodle growled.**

"That is one touchy poodle," said Reyna.

**I said hello to the poodle. **

"NO!" wailed Leo. "He broke rule number 5158!"

Piper looked at him. "You sound like Nico now."

Nico gasped, offended. "Ex_cuse_ me?"

Thalia laughed. "When you complained about losing people to the Thinking Like Percy Jackson Syndrome or whatever it was."

**Grover explained that he'd come across Gladiola in the woods and they'd struck up a conversation. The poodle had run away from a rich local family, who'd posted a $200 reward for his return. Gladiola didn't really want to go back to his family, but he was willing to if it meant helping Grover. **

"Wow, I actually got past more than two sentences without an interruption!" exclaimed Thalia, mock-surprised.

"That was only three sentences, Thals. _One_ more," Annabeth pointed out.

Thalia scowled good-naturedly. "Can't you let me have my fun, Annie?"

Before Annabeth could explode about being called 'Annie', Hestia cut in with, "That's such a nice poodle. Willing to go back to a family who probably was overbearing just to help Grover."

"**How does Gladiola know about the reward?" I asked. **

"**He read the signs," Grover said. "Duh."**

"Yeah. Because poodles read signs _every day_," Rachel answered sarcastically.

"**Of course," I said. "Silly me."**

"Percy's good at sarcasm. I like that," approved Leo.

"That sure will increase his ego," Piper shot back.

Jason tried to hold back his ever-mounting jealousy. Piper had hardly talked to him. In fact, the last time was her chewing him out for being unfairly jealous.

"**So we turn in Gladiola," Annabeth explained in her best strategy voice, **

Athena beamed. "And her best strategy voice is the best in the mortal world," she boasted proudly.

Annabeth shook her head. "It can't be, mother. There are many amazing strategists out there, much better than I am."

"Rubbish," said Athena. "You're my _daughter_. And only my children are the best strategists in the world."

Her daughter decided not to argue with her further.

"**we get money, and we buy tickets to Los Angeles. Simple."**

"But simple enough for him to get it?" teased Travis.

Annabeth shrugged, a serious look on her face. "I don't know. It might not be."

**I thought about my dream – the whispering voices of the dead, the thing in the chasm, and my mother's face, shimmering as it dissolved into gold. **

Poseidon winced. "That wouldn't be very encouraging, would it?"

**All that might be waiting for me in the West. **

Hades shrugged. "It could be."

Nico nodded. "In the life of a demigod, nothing should be expected."

Unable to resist the bait, Thalia teased, "Did that saying come from Mythomagic?"

Nico scowled. "I don't play that game anymore. And there were no good sayings. Just ones I made up myself."

"**Not another bus," I said warily. **

"I doubt he'll ever go on a bus again," Poseidon commented. "After that last horrific incident."

"**No," Annabeth agreed. **

"And my daughter agrees," Athena added.

Annabeth shrugged. "What was I supposed to do? It was a _bad_ bus ride."

**She pointed downhill, toward train tracks I hadn't been able to see last night in the dark. **

Artemis nodded slowly. "Train," she said.

"**There's an Amtrak station half a mile that way. According to Gladiola, the west-bound train leaves at noon."**

Thalia slipped in the bookmark, then slapped the book closed. "Another chapter finished. Who'd like to read next?"

"I would," volunteered Poseidon, getting up from his throne. "It _is_ my son's book and I haven't had a chance to read it yet." He paused in his walking and speaking briefly. "I wish he was here. He's just a child right now."

Annabeth smiled at the Lord of the Seas as he neared. "I'm sure he'll show up soon, Lord Poseidon."

The Sea God smiled at her slightly before taking the book with a smile from Thalia. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," answered Thalia. _I like Lord Poseidon better than my father. He seems a lot more down-to-earth._

Once Poseidon settled back in his throne, Hera said, before he could start, "Why don't we take a break after this next chapter?"

A murmuring of assent rolled through the throne room, and Hera nodded, sitting back. "Go on, Poseidon," she said.

x.o.x.o.x.

A/N: Ah… school. It is an evil thing. Anyway, I hope you liked that chapter! Not much else to say down here, except that since this is a long weekend, and I only had two days of school plus practically _no_ homework, this is a quicker update. Once we settle back into the full weeks and stuff, it won't be as quick. Sorry! But for now… let's be optimistic! Until next time…


	14. I Plunge to My Death

A/N: Every weekend all my I've been updating my stories pretty much at the same time, just to make things run smoother and so that I won't leave one story to rot and work on one like I'm training for the Olympics. Anyway, enjoy!

x.o.x.o.x.

**I Plunge to My Death**, read Poseidon, and then he immediately groaned. "I _had_ to get this chapter, didn't I?"

The goddesses (except Athena, who smirked) all looked at him sympathetically while the demigods looked to Annabeth for an explanation.

Annabeth just shrugged with a secretive smile. "Just listen.

**We spent two days on the Amtrak train, **

Aphrodite scoffed (gracefully, she told me to add). "Two days? That's ridiculous. You should have at least sent them a nice limo or something," she scolded Athena and Poseidon.

"Aphrodite, you _know_ that those kinds of things are against the ancient laws," Athena replied exasperatedly.

"Ancient laws, psh," was Aphrodite's response.

Zeus looked at her sternly. "You'd do well to follow Athena's example, Aphrodite."

**heading west through hills, over rivers, past amber waves of grain. **

Demeter grinned happily. "Grain! I'm surprised he mentioned that, but I'm glad he did!"

Hades rolled his eyes. "Crazy woman," he muttered.

"That reminds me of the song _America the Beautiful_," commented Will.

Apollo grinned. "That's my boy! Always connecting to music!"

Will rolled his eyes, but he was smiling.

**We weren't attacked once, but I didn't relax. **

"That's good," Poseidon said, interrupting his own reading. "Never relax, especially on a quest."

**I felt that we were traveling around in a display case, being watched from above and maybe from below, that something was waiting for the right opportunity. **

"Paranoid," scoffed Octavian.

Reyna looked at him sharply. "You'll do well to remember that paranoia is exactly what we try to instill in you Romans, Octavian. You must always be on your guard," she said in a voice that the Greeks were sure she used on a daily basis and the other Camp Jupiter campers called her _praetor voice_. To Jason, it stirred a distant memory.

**I tried to keep a low profile because my name and picture were splattered over the front pages of several East Coast newspapers. **

"I still can't believe they suspect him," Persephone said. "He's such a sweet, innocent boy!"

Nico scowled. Of course she would favor Percy over her own stepson.

**The **_**Trenton Register-News**_** showed a photo taken by a tourist as I got off the Greyhound bus. I had a wild look in my eyes. My sword was a metallic blur in my hands. It might've been a baseball bat or a lacrosse stick. **

"Oh, the lovely Mist," sighed Apollo blissfully.

"That's just _weird_," Artemis informed him.

**The picture's caption read:**

_**Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson, wanted for questioning in the Long Island disappearance of his mother two weeks ago, is shown here fleeing from the bus where he accosted several elderly female passengers. **_

"Is _that_ what the Mist showed them as? Elderly females?" demanded Hades, stifling a laugh.

"They _are_ elderly females," Aphrodite reminded him.

Hades shrugged. "Fair enough, but if you call them elderly, they really should be dead. But still, I agree with Apollo. The lovely Mist."

Apollo grinned. "Join the club, Uncle H!"

"Don't call me Uncle H!"

_**The bus exploded on an east New Jersey roadside shortly after Jackson fled the scene. **_

"Did it?" asked Athena in interest. "At least it didn't explode when my daughter was inside."

"I think it would have been in the book then, darling Athena," Hera replied sarcastically.

As Athena scowled, Thalia smiled to herself and thought, _Yup, annoying stepmothers. Been there, done that, Athena. At least I don't have to deal with her for eternity… that is, if I don't die in battle for the Hunters._

_**Based on eyewitness accounts, police believe the boy may be traveling with two teenage accomplices. **_

Katie sighed. "That's not good. Now everyone will be looking out for Percy and two teenage accomplices. You're as good as dead," she told Annabeth.

"How are you alive and here?" Piper asked in awe.

Annabeth just smiled mysteriously again.

_**His stepfather, Gabe Ugliano, has offered a cash reward for information leading to his capture. **_

Poseidon growled.

"Oh, it must have taken _so much_ willpower to take that out of his gambling fund," remarked Hermes.

"**Don't worry," Annabeth told me. "Mortal police could never find us." **

"If they had a clear-sighted mortal working within their forces, or just saw you 'assaulting' someone, they could," Athena told her daughter.

"I _know_, Mother."

**But she didn't sound so sure. **

Annabeth looked at her mother. "See?" she asked with a smile.

**The rest of the day I spent alternately pacing the length of the train (because I had a really hard time sitting still) **

Leo nodded. "ADHD," he mumbled. "I hate it."

**or looking out the windows.**

"He probably saw all sorts of weird creatures," Travis predicted.

**Once, I spotted a family of centaurs galloping across a wheat field, bows at the ready, as they hunted lunch. **

"A family of centaurs," repeated Frank. He shook his head. "Only demigods."

"Yeah. A normal mortal would just see the hills and stuff," Connor said.

Rachel pretended to be offended. "Excuse me?"

"_Non-_clear-sighted mortals," Connor clarified.

"Nice save," Rachel told him, grinning.

**The little boy centaur, who was the size of a second-grader on a pony, **

Annabeth burst out laughing. So did Thalia and Nico.

"A second-grader on a pony?" Jason asked incredulously.

"Percy's descriptions always have been abnormal," Thalia told her brother, mirth clear in her voice as well as fondness.

Nico added, "Just like him."

**caught my eye and waved. I looked around the passenger car, but nobody else had noticed. **

"Of course they wouldn't," Hazel said.

Reyna nodded in agreement. "They're very ignorant, mortals." She looked at Rachel and quickly added, "The ones that can't see through the Mist, of course."

Rachel smiled gratefully, warming up to the Roman praetor.

**The adult riders all had their faces buried in laptop computers or magazines. **

**Another time, toward evening, I saw something huge moving through the woods. I could've sworn it was a lion, except that lions don't live wild in America, and this thing was the size of a Hummer. Its fur glinted gold in the evening light. Then it leaped through the trees and was gone. **

Hades looked thoughtful. "Could it be a hellhound?"

Persephone gasped. "Are you actually _thinking_, my lord?" she teased.

The Lord of the Dead glared at her. "I am, in fact."

"I didn't think that was possible," continued Persephone.

"Thank you, love," Hades said dryly.

Poseidon smiled to himself, glad that his favorite niece would be okay for now.

**Our reward money for returning Gladiola the poodle had only been enough to purchase tickets as far as Denver. We couldn't get berths in the sleeper car, so we dozed in our seats. **

Leo winced. "Ooh, _that's_ uncomfortable."

"Yeah. For more than a whole night, too!" Frank agreed.

**My neck got stiff. I tried not to drool in my sleep, since Annabeth was sitting right next to me. **

Thalia exploded in laughter.

Fighting her own, Katie commented, "_You drool in your sleep_ is probably my favorite book line of all time, Annabeth."

Annabeth smirked. "Thanks, Katie!"

**Grover kept snoring and bleating and waking me up. Once, he shuffled around and his fake foot fell off. **

Dionysus snorted from behind his wine magazine. "Useless."

"Don't call Grover useless," Annabeth snapped at him.

**Annabeth and I had to stick it back on before any of the other passengers noticed. **

"Wow, he's that fast?" joked Nico.

Annabeth shrugged. "Actually, it was more _I_ had to stick it back on, not him."

"**So," Annabeth asked me, once we'd gotten Grover's sneaker readjusted. "Who wants your help?"**

"What do you mean?" asked Thalia.

Annabeth smiled. "Kept listening…"

"**What do you mean?"**

Nico fake-wept. "OHHHHH DEAR, DEAR THALIA! WE'VE LOST YOU TO THE DARK SIDE! HOW COULD YOU?"

Thalia looked at him seriously. "The light side isn't all that great, Nico, seeing as _you're_ on it."

"**When you were asleep just now, you mumbled, 'I won't help you.' Who were you dreaming about?"**

Connor and Travis smirked, saying at the same time, "Annabeth."

Annabeth glared fiercely at them. "Have you ever tasted my knife's blade before, boys?" she asked sweetly.

The sons of Hermes shook their heads, bewildered.

"If you don't _shut up_, I'll be sure that you will," Annabeth threatened.

**I was reluctant to say anything. It was the second time I'd dreamed about the evil voice from the pit. But it bothered me so much I finally told her.**

"Good," murmured Reyna.

**Annabeth was quiet for a long time. "That doesn't sound like Hades. He always appears on a black throne, and he never laughs."**

Hades looked offended. "Ex_cuse_ me, daughter of Athena?" he demanded. "I do _not_ always appear on a black throne, and I _do_ laugh!"

Annabeth, seemingly taking a leaf out of Percy's book, arched an eyebrow and answered, "You're on a black throne at the moment, Lord Hades."

"W-well, I _do_ laugh," Hades persisted.

Persephone giggled. "Annabeth is right, milord. You _never_ laugh."

"**He offered my mother in trade. Who else could do that?"**

"Some evil force manipulating me to do it," Hades suggests.

Annabeth thought about that. "I didn't think of that," she admitted.

"**I guess... if he meant, 'Help me rise from the Underworld.' If he wants war with the Olympians. But why ask you to bring him the master bolt if he already has it?"**

Hades and Nico groaned.

"I do _not_ have the _stupid_ bolt!" Hades yelled.

Zeus gasped. "Don't call my bolt stupid!"

"My dad doesn't have it!" Nico defended his father.

**I shook my head, wishing I knew the answer. I thought about what Grover had told me, that the Furies on the bus seemed to have been looking for something. **

"Yes! My bolt!" exclaimed Zeus.

Hades shook his head slowly. "Maybe so, brother, but why would they want to find it? _I_ certainly don't want it…" He trailed off thoughtfully.

_**Where is it? Where?**_

**Maybe Grover sensed my emotions. He snorted in his sleep, muttered something about vegetables, and turned his head. **

"Like tin cans?" asked Leo innocently.

Annabeth stifled a laugh and answered, "It was more like broccoli, Leo."

Leo made a face. "I'd rather eat a tin can."

**Annabeth readjusted his cap so it covered his horns. "Percy, you can't barter with Hades. **

"I'm not _that_ hard to bargain with!" Hades protested.

His family averted their eyes, while Persephone told him, "You are, my lord. Especially with young heroes."

Hades harrumphed and said, "Why did I have to be stuck with this kind of family?"

**You know that, right? He's deceitful, heartless, and greedy. **

"I am not deceitful, heartless, _or_ greedy!" Hades argued, glaring at Annabeth.

Annabeth shifted uncomfortably. "We-ell, Lord Hades, I didn't meet you yet, and I was going along with what everyone believed… it's easy to be hoodwinked these days, isn't it?" she tried.

Hades narrowed his eyes at her. "Good try, daughter of Athena, but-"

His wife decided to cut him off at this point with a roll of her eyes. "Oh, for Zeus's sake, my lord, you may not be deceitful, nor greedy, but you cannot argue that you are heartless," she teased, her eyes twinkling.

"He _is_ heartless," Demeter agreed with her daughter. "Any person with a heart wouldn't steal a mother's only daughter from her just to marry her!"

Katie looked at her mother. "Her _only_ daughter?"

Demeter replied, "Oh, Katie. You know I meant _immortal_ daughter."

**I don't care if his Kindly Ones weren't as aggressive this time-"**

"**This time?" I asked. "You mean you've run into them before?"**

**Her hand crept up to her necklace. She fingered a glazed white bead painted with the image of a pine tree, one of her clay end-of-summer tokens. **

Athena smiled slightly. "A pine tree. The token of your first summer at Camp Half-Blood, daughter?" she guessed.

Annabeth nodded slowly. "It was. And it could possibly be the most important one to me…" She trailed off, thinking carefully.

"**Let's just say I've got no love for the Lord of the Dead. **

"Thanks," Hades told Annabeth sarcastically.

She simply smiled back sweetly. "You're welcome, Lord Hades."

**You can't be tempted to make a deal for your mom."**

"**What would you do if it was your dad?"**

Athena, a look of interest on her face, leaned forward.

Annabeth, catching this, glanced down at her intertwined hands resting on her lap. Her mother would be quite disappointed with her answer, if she remembered correctly.

"**That's easy," she said. "I'd leave him to rot."**

Annabeth's prediction came true as Athena slumped back in her throne, a look of defeat etched on her face as she looked to her daughter imploringly. "Was it truly that bad, Annabeth?"

Her daughter nodded grimly. "It was, Mother."

"I mean, I'm aware that you ran away, but I had no idea that it was _this_ bad, bad enough that you would truly leave him to rot in the land of Hades."

Annabeth winced. _I wouldn't do the same anymore_, she thought, but didn't dare say it aloud, even to pacify her mother. "Well, the important thing is that I'm alive and Dad's alive, right?" she weakly tried.

"**You're not serious?"**

"Oh, I was," murmured Annabeth. "Dead serious."

Thalia reached over and awkwardly patted her shoulder. "The only thing that matters is that you're alive and he's alive, and you _don't_ wish that anymore," she whispered.

Annabeth smiled gratefully at her longtime friend. "Thanks, Thalia."

**Annabeth's gray eyes fixed on me. She wore the same expression she'd worn in the woods at camp, the moment she drew her sword against the hellhound. **

Despite her recent battle of emotions, Athena smiled widely and proudly. "The expression that all my children wear before entering battle, with another person or monster."

Rachel considered this. "That's very true, Lady Athena. I haven't noticed before now, but as I think back on it…"

"So do the children of Minerva," Reyna contributed. "They are a valued addition to Camp Jupiter, Lady Min- Lady Athena."

Athena smiled at both the Oracle and the praetor. "Thank you, girls."

"**My dad's resented me since the day I was born, Percy," she said. **

Athena shook her head quickly and said firmly, "No he didn't, Annabeth. He loves you."

Annabeth smiled sadly. "It was difficult to believe back then, Mother."

"**He never wanted a baby. When he got me, he asked Athena to take me back and raise me on Olympus because he was too busy with his work. She wasn't happy about that. She told him heroes had to be raised by their mortal parent."**

Hera nodded importantly. "That's right. Whatever would we do if hundreds of those little bratty demigods were running around on Olympus day in and day out? Everything would become tiresome. And I would never get my beauty sleep!"

Once again aggravated by her stepmother, Thalia murmured to Annabeth and Nico, "And she needs a _whole lot_ of that _beauty_ sleep."

"**But how... I mean, I guess you weren't born in a hospital..."**

Artemis snorted. "Of course not, silly boy. What would the doctors and nurses say if a goddess were to enter their hospital and request to give birth there?"

"You're talking to a book! Which is almost as bad as talking to yourself!" Apollo pointed out gleefully.

His twin didn't even bother to waste her breath on a reply.

"**I appeared on my father's doorstep, in a golden cradle, carried down from Olympus by Zephyr the West Wind. You'd think my dad would remember that as a miracle, right? Like, maybe he'd take some digital photos or something. But he always talked about my arrival as if it were the most inconvenient thing that had ever happened to him. **

Athena winced again. "I always thought that Frederick Chase would be an ideal father and that he'd dote on you like… well, like the daughter that you are. Obviously I was wrong."

Annabeth shook her head. "Don't get down on yourself, Mother. I can't say more than this, but… things get better in the future between Dad and me. _Much_ better."

**When I was five he got married and totally forgot about Athena. **

Athena flinched, but didn't say anything. She almost got away with it when Aphrodite squealed.

Everyone looked at her.

She looked absolutely giddy. "Athena _loved_ Frederick Chase! I can _feel_ the waves of hidden love coming off her! Oh, this is amazing! I never thought that our little Athena would love someone _this_ much, much less a mortal!"

"Shut up, Aphrodite!" Athena snapped. "I _did not_ love Frederick, and I don't!" She was so blinded by anger at the goddess of love, she completely missed her own daughter's cringe.

"Oh yes you do! You can't lie about these things to me, Athena! I am the goddess in this field!" chanted Aphrodite with a beam.

Artemis rolled her eyes. "Oh, be quiet, Aphrodite! She said she doesn't love him!" she argued for the sake of her half-sister and is rewarded with a grateful smile.

"Lord Poseidon, may we please read?" Annabeth asked softly as the throne room fell silent, watching Athena glare with her life at Aphrodite, who bounced in her seat giddily.

Poseidon, interpreting her tone and request correctly, nodded and began reading, capturing everyone's attention.

**He got a 'regular' mortal wife, and had two 'regular' mortal kids, and tried to pretend I didn't exist."**

Annabeth closed her eyes, bowing her head as she remembered those days, the days that were almost a blur in her memory now.

Katie placed a hand on her elbow, and when the daughter of Athena opened her grey eyes to look at her, Katie smiled reassuringly and silently.

**I stared out the train window. The lights of a sleeping town were drifting by. I wanted to make Annabeth feel better, but I didn't know how. **

Artemis scoffed. "Of course he didn't. He's a boy."

"He actually didn't do a bad job, Lady Artemis," Annabeth informed her, remembering the words Percy had said to her next.

"**My mom married a really awful guy," I told her. "Grover said she did it to protect me, to hide me in the scent of a human family. Maybe that's what your dad was thinking."**

"See?" Annabeth asked Artemis.

Artemis snorted. "Perhaps it wasn't _half_ bad, but still…"

**Annabeth kept worrying at her necklace. She was pinching the gold college ring that hung with the beads. It occurred to me that the ring must be her father's. I wondered why she wore it if she hated him so much. **

"I didn't hate him," Annabeth declared. "He's my father. I don't think I could ever hate him. But I wore it because it reminded me of him, of the only family I ever knew, even if it wasn't much to know."

"**He doesn't care about me," she said. "His wife – my stepmom – treated me like a freak. **

Thalia gasped. "She _what_?"

Athena didn't voice her opinion, but the look on her face told it all: she thought the same as Thalia.

**She wouldn't let me play with her children. **

Annabeth sighed. "They were cute and I wanted to develop a sibling bond with them. But she wouldn't hear of it."

Athena narrowed her eyes. "Can I go after her, Annabeth?"

"No!" Annabeth replied loudly and sharply. Seeing her mother's sharp look, she said, "I'm sorry, but _our_ bond has changed too."

**My dad went along with her. **

"He just ignored you, his _birth daughter_, and went along with your stepmother in belittling you?" Nico asked in disbelief.

Annabeth smiled wryly at him. "Well, Nico, has Hades ever treated you, his _birth son_, in the way my father did?"

Nico winced, remembering his father's jab at him involving Bianca after he brought Percy to the Underworld before his bath in the Styx.

"Exactly," Annabeth said, but didn't go further.

Hades looked between them, wondering what exactly he said.

**Whenever something dangerous happened – you know, something with monsters –they would both look at me resentfully, like, 'How dare you put our family at risk.' **

"More like _his_ fault, having a child with an Olympian!" Reyna spoke up, already feeling a friendly bond between herself and Annabeth.

Annabeth smiled at her. "Thank you, Reyna," she murmured.

Reyna shrugged with a smile.

**Finally, I took the hint. I wasn't wanted. I ran away."**

"And found people who _did_ want me," Annabeth said, grinning at Thalia, who smiled back.

"**How old were you?"**

"**Same age as when I started camp. Seven."**

Hestia shook her head. "That's such a pity. No child should start training with a knife or sword at that young an age. Children should enjoy their childhood."

Annabeth smiled at the warm, inviting, caring goddess. "Perhaps so, Lady Hestia, but Camp Half-Blood is my home. And I enjoyed my time there more than I would ever have enjoyed my childhood at home." She smiled a little wider. "And my knife was like my favorite toy. A very dangerous toy, but a favorite nonetheless."

"**But... you couldn't have gotten all the way to Half-Blood Hill by yourself."**

"**Not alone, no. Athena watched over me, guided me toward help. **

Athena smiled. "Glad I could help."

Poseidon rolled his eyes. "So full of yourself," he mumbled.

"And you're not?" she shot back.

**I made a couple of unexpected friends who took care of me, for a short time, anyway."**

Thalia flinched.

"For a short time indeed," grumbled Zeus. "It's all that miserable satyr's fault."

"FATHER! I TOLD YOU TO DROP IT!" Thalia yelled. "If you can't, I cannot stay in the same room as you."

Zeus flinched. "Thalia, listen here-"

"Don't play that 'I'm your father and the king of all kings' card!" Thalia cut him off. "It works on other people but not me! So _shut up and let Lord Poseidon read!_"

Shocked, Zeus actually obeyed.

**I wanted to ask what happened, but Annabeth seemed lost in sad memories. So I listened to the sound of Grover snoring and gazed out the train windows as the dark fields of Ohio raced by. **

"He actually had tact?" Reyna asked, raising an eyebrow.

Hazel laughed. "At least we know he has _some_ tact, otherwise we'd be in trouble with a tactless praetor."

Huffing, Octavian snapped, "_I_ have tact!"

**Toward the end of our second day on the train, June 13, eight days before the summer solstice, **

"The countdown," announced Hermes dramatically.

**we passed through some golden hills and over the Mississippi River into St. Louis. Annabeth craned her neck to see the Gateway Arch, **

Athena grinned. "The Gateway Arch? That is a very interesting architectural landmark."

Annabeth nodded enthusiastically. "It is! It's amazing, really."

Before mother and daughter could launch into a long conversation about architecture, Poseidon read on.

**which looked to me like a huge shopping bag handle stuck on the city. **

"It does!" cried Leo. "He's right!"

"Seaweed Brain is _right_?" joked Annabeth.

"**I want to do that," she sighed. **

"What? Make a huge shopping bag handle?" teased Leo.

"Hardy har har," Annabeth replied dryly.

"**What?" I asked. **

"**Build something like that. You ever see the Parthenon, Percy?"**

"I highly doubt that if Chiron taught him for a year, he'd neglect mentioning the Parthenon or showing pictures, Annabeth," Will reminded her with a raised eyebrow.

Annabeth smiled sheepishly. "Well, his Seaweed Brain tendencies made me forget that."

"Or was it something else?" Connor teased, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Gross, Connor! I was _twelve_!" Annabeth snapped at him.

"**Only in pictures."**

"**Someday, I'm going to see it in person. **

"You could now," Reyna pointed out to the daughter of Athena.

Annabeth grinned. "Yeah, I could," she agreed happily.

**I'm going to build the greatest monument to the gods, ever. Something that'll last a thousand years."**

The demigods all smiled widely at her, except for Clarisse, who just kind of grunted.

"I sure hope it will last for more than a thousand years," Piper chuckled. "Otherwise, it would _not_ be good."

"That's right!" exclaimed Athena. "You're the Architect of Olympus! What exactly does that mean, daughter?"

Annabeth shrugged mysteriously, though the effect was dampened by a broad, proud smile on her face. "You'll see."

**I laughed. "You? An architect?"**

Athena looked offended. "What's wrong with being an architect? It's a _very_ reasonable job!"

**I don't know why, but I found it funny. Just the idea of Annabeth trying to sit quietly and draw all day. **

Annabeth smiled. "That's true," she admitted. "Since we all are ADHD, that doesn't exclude me. I do have a hard time trying to sit quietly. But I try, because I love what I do." Remembering what she says next, however, she flinched. "Lord Poseidon? I apologize beforehand," she said.

The god looked at her in confusion, but when she shook her head, he let it go and continued to read.

**Her cheeks flushed. "Yes, an architect. Athena expects her children to create things, not just tear them down, like a certain god of earthquakes I could mention."**

Poseidon nodded understandingly. "I get it." He smiled at the girl. "It's fine, Annabeth."

Annabeth smiled. "Percy took it about the same way, if I remember correctly. Thank you, Lord Poseidon."

**I watched the churning brown water of the Mississippi below. **

The Sea God flinched. "I may not control that, but the river spirits would listen to me. I really should get those rivers cleaned."

"Especially the Hudson," piped up Thalia. "When we were-" She cut off, not wanting to give anything away. "When we were in the city, the Hudson wasn't exactly unpolluted and sparklingly beautiful."

"**Sorry," Annabeth said. "That was mean."**

"Ya think?" asked Leo sarcastically.

"Oh, leave her alone, Leo. This was in the past," Piper snapped.

Leo grinned cheekily. "Okay, beauty queen," he sang.

Piper glared at him playfully. "Don't call me that, repair boy!"

Jason scowled to himself.

"**Can't we work together a little?" I pleaded. "I mean, didn't Athena and Poseidon ever cooperate?"**

The two aforementioned deities glanced at each other. Well, Athena glared. Poseidon glanced.

**Annabeth had to think about it. "I guess... the chariot," **

"And _how_ did we cooperate on the chariot?" demanded Athena.

"You invented it, but I created horses," Poseidon replied simply. "If you can't figure that out…" He looked to his younger brother. "If she can't figure that out, Zeus, you really should find a different domain for her."

**she said tentatively. "My mom invented it, but Poseidon created horses out of the crests of waves. **

"You think like Lord N- _Poseidon_," Reyna told Annabeth, grinning.

Annabeth shrugged. "Maybe he isn't so unwise after all."

Athena snorted. "Poseidon? Wise? You're crazy."

"Thanks, Mother, love you too," Annabeth said dryly.

**So they had to work together to make it complete."**

"**Then we can cooperate, too. Right?"**

"Or more," implied Travis.

"_SHUT UP!_"

_I'll have to talk to the daughter of Athena! Maybe she isn't as hopeless as her mother when it comes to love!_ thought Aphrodite.

**We rode into the city, Annabeth watching as the Arch disappeared behind a hotel. **

"You really want to go see it, don't you?" Hestia asked gently.

Annabeth nodded. "I did," she clarified.

"They should make a huge metal bowl of cereal! They'd have _my_ full support for it!" Demeter suggested.

"**I suppose," she said at last. **

**We pulled into the Amtrak station downtown. The intercom told us we'd have a three-hour layover before departing for Denver. **

"You should go to the Arch then," Frank suggested.

Annabeth smiled. "Maybe I should."

**Grover stretched. Before he was even fully awake, he said, "Food."**

Apollo drooled. "Sounds like us…" He gestured vaguely at Hermes before slipping into a hazy daze.

For once, Hermes doesn't descend into the daze with his half-brother. He just shook his head fondly before returning his attention to his uncle.

"**Come on, goat boy," Annabeth said. "Sightseeing."**

"So Percy doesn't have to go?" asked Leo.

Annabeth looked at him like he shouldn't be there. "Er… yeah, he did. Why?"

"Because you just addressed 'goat boy'. Not 'seaweed brain'," Leo responded triumphantly.

Rolling her eyes, Annabeth waved it off, saying, "Technicalities."

"You're a daughter of Athena," Leo pointed out.

"So?"

Leo smirked. "So…." He dragged it out, until, "Children of Athena _love_ technicalities; they _live_ on technicalities."

"Misconceptions," Annabeth replied, waving him off again.

"**Sightseeing?"**

"**The Gateway Arch," she said. "This may be my only chance to ride to the top. Are you coming or not?"**

"Of course they're going," Thalia said. "Annabeth has a way of convincing people to do whatever she wants."

Annabeth grinned happily. "Exactly."

**Grover and I exchanged looks. **

**I wanted to say no, but I figured that if Annabeth was going, we couldn't very well let her go alone. **

"See?" Thalia asked, as if the sentence proved her point.

"We didn't contradict you," Nico informed her.

Thalia pouted. "I was _still_ right!"

**Grover shrugged. "As long as there's a snack bar without monsters."**

"I'm pretty sure there's no snack bar at the Gateway Arch," Zeus commented, raising an eyebrow.

Hera snorted. "It's modern civilization, Zeus. _Anything_ is possible."

**The Arch was about a mile from the train station. Late in the day the lines to get in weren't that long. We threaded our way through the underground museum, looking at covered wagons and other junk from the 1800s. **

"Junk?" repeated Athena, her voice filled with skepticism and hurt.

"Yeah, junk," Poseidon replied, waving it off. "We were _there_ to experience it; why go to a boring underground museum while you could visit the Mississippi River?"

Athena glared at him. "It's _fascinating_, you stupid brat. And the fact that it's underground makes it all the more interesting. Covered wagons were a brilliant idea!"

"We get the point, Athena," Hades said, cutting her off sharply. "You don't need to go preaching your beliefs all over the place like a priestess."

"Thank the gods I'm _not_. Because that one obviously doesn't respect priestesses all that much," Athena testily answered, jerking her head in Poseidon's direction.

**It wasn't all that thrilling, **

"See? My son agrees," Poseidon pointed out triumphantly.

Athena snorted, sounding almost exactly like her stepmother. "And sea spawn's opinion counts for much around here?"

"I would say it does, seeing as he _did_ save Olympus, _and_ they kind of agreed to quite the big favor," Thalia chuckled quietly to her cousin and Annabeth.

**but Annabeth kept telling us interesting facts about how the Arch was built, and Grover kept passing me jelly beans, so I was okay. **

"Jelly beans…" Leo sighed. "They make everything better."

"They do," agreed Connor dreamily. Travis couldn't manage words.

"Just like their father," Artemis mumbled.

Hephaestus looked at her. "I'm crazy about jelly beans?"

**I kept looking around, though, at the other people in line. "You smell anything?" I murmured to Grover. **

Everyone leaned forward, except for Annabeth, eager to hear what the satyr smelled.

**He took his nose out of the jelly-bean bag long enough to sniff. "Underground," he said distastefully. "Underground air always smells like monsters. **

"It's because the Underworld is basically underground, and many of the worst monsters come from there," Athena explained.

Hazel rolled her eyes and murmured to Frank, "Does Lady Minerva think that we know nothing at all?"

Reyna, hearing, looked at her sharply. "Be respectful, Hazel," she hissed.

The daughter of Pluto nodded, looking away.

**Probably doesn't mean anything."**

**But something felt wrong to me. I had a feeling we shouldn't be here. **

"His instincts are usually right," remarked Rachel.

Thalia nodded in agreement. "Usually."

"**Guys," I said. "You know the gods' symbols of power?"**

Zeus stroked his lightning bolt lovingly.

**Annabeth had been in the middle of reading about the construction equipment used to build the Arch, but she looked over. "Yeah?"**

"Wow," said Katie. "It usually takes a crowbar to pry Annabeth away from anything having to do with architecture."

"Hey!"

"**Well, Hade-"**

"Has he learned _nothing_?" asked Artemis exasperatedly. "You cannot simply throw names around!"

**Grover cleared his throat. "We're in a public place... you mean, our friend downstairs?"**

Hades sputtered while everyone else burst into laughter.

"_What_?" demanded Hades, his eyes watering from choking.

"It appears the satyr has a… er, knack for innuendoes," grinned Hermes.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "That just made the conversation more awkward."

"**Um, right," I said. "Our friend **_**way**_** downstairs. **

"_Way_ downstairs? Is it misplaced?" Poseidon teased his brother.

"_Shut up_!"

"I never thought you'd descend to Athena's level… well, have fun there. It _is_ quite low, and you like low places," Poseidon replied happily.

**Doesn't he have a hat like Annabeth's?"**

"My Helm of Darkness is a whole lot more powerful than a petty creation of Athena's!" Hades exclaimed, again offended.

"**You mean the Helm of Darkness," Annabeth said. "Yeah, that's his symbol of power. I saw it next to his seat during the winter solstice council meeting."**

"Of course! He brings it _everywhere_," huffed Persephone. "He'd probably even bring it to Mother's festivals."

Demeter shrieked, "What? What's that, daughter? He's snuck into one of my festivals before? Oh, was it that one centuries ago, when everyone left without reason? Oh, you sick god! You need plenty of cereal! And maybe a millennia of farming!"

Persephone rolled her eyes. "I was _joking_, Mother."

"**He was there?" I asked. **

"Of course he was. Otherwise, I probably would have killed him, immortal or not, for neglecting his duties," Zeus said loudly.

"I have no doubts about that," muttered Hades. Louder, he replied, "Yes, brother, whatever helps you sleep at night."

**She nodded. "It's the only time he's allowed to visit Olympus – the darkest day of the year. But his helm is a lot more powerful than my invisibility hat, if what I've heard is true..."**

"Of course it's more powerful! Athena's measly creation could never live up to my helm!" Hades cried, shocked.

Annabeth nodded, smiling reassuringly at her mother after catching the goddess's offended look. "I know that now, Lord Hades," she pacified him.

"**It allows him to become darkness," **

Hades smiled in satisfaction. "Darkness. So much better than light."

Persephone scoffed. "Watch what you're saying. Spring Goddess here!"

"Exactly why I said you shouldn't have gone with him, much less eat those seeds!" scolded Demeter. Persephone closed her eyes, preparing herself for what was coming next. "You don't even fit each other! You're polar opposites! You're a _terrible_ match!"

"Saying that is going too far, Mother," Persephone finally snapped, breaking. "Perhaps you're too _ignorant_, but have you ever heard the saying 'opposites attract'? And all that matters is I love him. _So deal with it_."

Demeter looked and felt so shocked; she couldn't form a coherent sentence.

**Grover confirmed. "He can melt into shadow or pass through walls. He can't be touched, or seen, or heard. And he can radiate fear so intense it can drive you insane or stop your heart. **

"Doing that is such fun," Hades shared, relishing the thought. Then he sobered. "Except for when I do it to the future, of course."

Everyone knew he meant the Oracle, and Apollo looked over at Rachel as if to reassure himself that his Oracle had a true body hosting it again – and safely.

**Why do you think all rational creatures fear the dark?"**

"I'm irrational, then," Frank commented.

All the demigods and Rachel nodded in agreement. Octavian sat there stonily.

"I _love_ the dark," Nico added.

"Of course you do! You're a son of Pluto!" Octavian snapped at him.

Nico regarded him with cold eyes. "I am a son of _Hades_."

"_I_ am a daughter of Pluto," Hazel added, coming to her brother's rescue.

"Right. I can't mix it up. Of course you'd be a child of a lesser god," Octavian retorted.

Nico stood angrily, a rattling sound alerting everyone to a possible arriving skeleton army. But Annabeth reached forward, laying a hand on Nico's arm. When the boy relaxed slightly, Annabeth guided him gently back into his throne-like chair. She stood herself.

Her grey eyes were stormier than ever as they bore into the Roman. "You are very close-minded, Octavian. For your information, if you have any, Hades is part of the Big Three in Greek mythology, therefore, he is one of the three most powerful gods. And you Romans shun both Neptune and Pluto, which I find absolutely terrible. Without Pluto, who would be able to manage the dead and the riches down there? Without Neptune, who would control the seas and storms? Both gods play very important parts in nature and our world, whether you are Roman or Greek. And I encourage you to be more open-minded. You won't get anywhere by broadcasting your beliefs in a negative, disrespectful way.

"I'm not saying you can't disagree with people, but the way you do it is absolutely disrespectful, which earns you a bad reputation. Didn't I hear that you wanted to become praetor?" Octavian nodded. "Well, you would have been a bad choice. A _very_ bad choice. I'm pleased that your fellow Romans chose more wisely. Now, Lord Poseidon, would you please read on?"

Annabeth sat back down, smiling smugly as Octavian looked stunned. She didn't know if it would work, but it was worth a try.

"**But then... how do we know he's not here right now, watching us?" I asked. **

"That's a fair point," Reyna remarked. "Since Lord Plu- _Hades_ could blend into the darkness and not be seen or touched or heard, it is entirely possible for him to be present."

Athena considered the girl. "Are you positive you're a child of Bellona? Or Enyo in Greek. Because you have the brains to be a child of mine."

Reyna smiled at the goddess. "I'm quite sure, Lady. My sister, Hylla, and I are both very proud to be children of Bellona."

"Good goddess, Enyo is," Ares praised gruffly.

Aphrodite scoffed but said nothing.

**Annabeth and Grover exchanged looks. **

"**We don't," Grover said. **

"**Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better," I said. "Got any blue jelly beans left?"**

"The blue food gets kind of dramatic, don't you think?" Jason asked.

Reyna shrugged in response. "It connects him to his mother, and he needs all the connection he can get at the moment."

**I'd almost mastered my jumpy nerves when I saw the tiny little elevator car we were going to ride to the top of the Arch, and I knew I was in trouble. I hate confined places. They make me nuts. **

"ADHD," confirmed Leo, shaking his head sadly. "The downside of being a demigod, along with dyslexia."

"And getting killed in nasty ways?" Thalia asked.

"That too," Leo agreed.

Clarisse looked shocked. "What are you talking about? That's the best part!"

**We got shoehorned into the car with this big fat lady and her dog, a Chihuahua with a rhinestone collar. I figured maybe the dog was a seeing-eye Chihuahua, because none of the guards said a word about it. **

"Suspicious," murmured Athena. "Dogs are usually banned from public places, and national landmarks. I wonder how the woman got her Chihuahua past…"

**We started going up, inside the Arch. I'd never been in an elevator that went in a curve, and my stomach wasn't too happy about it. **

Thinking about it, Travis shivered. "Terrible," he agreed.

"**No parents?" the fat lady asked us. **

"Lie!" Poseidon cried. "You better lie, son, or let Annabeth or the satyr do it, because otherwise you'll be in hot water."

"Oh, Grover can't lie to save his life," Rachel remarked conversationally.

"Great way to phrase it, Rach," Connor told her.

"Thanks!"

**She had beady eyes; pointy, coffee-stained teeth; a floppy denim hat, and a denim dress that bulged so much, she looked like a blue-jean blimp. **

"She sounds familiar…" Zeus trailed off.

Athena nodded almost absently, her mind going over what had already been revealed.

"**They're below," Annabeth told her. "Scared of heights."**

Poseidon let out a long, slow, loud breath. "Thank you," he mumbled to Annabeth.

Annabeth smiled. "If Seaweed Brain got killed, I probably would have too."

"**Oh, the poor darlings."**

Hera frowned. "They're poor darlings because they're scared of heights?"

"This lady is weird," agreed Demeter. "She must not have enough money to stock up on cereal."

"But enough money to pig out, apparently," Will called out.

Demeter looked at him sharply. "Son of Apollo, is it?"

"That's my boy!" yelled Apollo.

Will simply nodded.

"Figures," grumbled Demeter. "Children of that silly sun god are never appreciative of cereal. Not _any_ demigod child, for that matter! Or mortal children! Or even our immortal ones!"

**The Chihuahua growled. The woman said, "Now, now, sonny. **

"Sonny?" Athena demanded sharply.

Poseidon nodded. "It says so right here."

"I need a description of the dog," murmured Athena frantically.

**Behave." The dog had beady eyes like its owner, intelligent and vicious. **

Athena nearly ripped her hair out. "Oh, I can't figure it out! I need more details!" she cried.

**I said, "Sonny. Is that his name?"**

"**No," the lady told me. **

"Well, that's helpful," Piper said sarcastically.

**She smiled, as if that cleared everything up. **

**At the top of the Arch, the observation deck reminded me of a tin can with carpeting. **

"Grover must have liked that!" Nico observed, laughing.

"Except he couldn't eat it," Annabeth pointed out.

**Rows of tiny windows looked out over the city on one side and the river on the other. The view was okay, but if there's anything I like less than a confined space, it's a confined space six hundred feet in the air. I was ready to go pretty quick. **

Athena dropped the subject of the fat lady and the dog for a moment, saying, "What! Leave so quickly? But the Arch is absolutely fascinating!"

"It is!" agreed Annabeth.

**Annabeth kept talking about structural supports, and how she would've made the windows bigger, and designed a see-through floor. **

"The windows would be more… fulfilling if they were larger," Athena commented. "And a see-through floor would be very beneficial. Your ideas are terrific, Annabeth!"

Annabeth beamed with pride. "Thank you, Mother!"

**She probably could've stayed up there for hours, but luckily for me the park ranger announced that the observation deck would be closing in a few minutes. **

"They were there that late?" Hestia asked, a red light going off in her head.

"It does seem dangerous," Demeter agreed.

**I steered Grover and Annabeth toward the exit, loaded them into the elevator, and I was about to get in myself when I realized there were already two other tourists inside. No room for me. **

Poseidon frowned, looking up from the book. "Only four people can fit into an elevator?"

"Yes. This is the Arch. It has a very small elevator," Artemis reminded him.

**The park ranger said, "Next car, sir."**

"**We'll get out," Annabeth said. "We'll wait with you."**

Athena banished any thought of the architecture stuff from her mind and sat up straight. "Good idea, daughter. Stay."

**But that was going to mess everybody up and take even more time, so I said, "Naw, it's okay. I'll see you guys at the bottom."**

Poseidon groaned. "That's just brilliant. Percy, will you _think_ for a moment? You're on a dangerous quest and there will be _hordes_ of monsters after you. You _must stick together_."

**Grover and Annabeth both looked nervous, but they let the elevator door slide shut. Their car disappeared down the ramp. **

"Oh no," moaned Athena.

**Now the only people left on the observation deck were me, a little boy with his parents, the park ranger, and the fat lady with her Chihuahua.**

"The lady is mentioned a bit, and she was described…" pondered Persephone. "Could it be that she's a monster?"

Athena nodded quickly, explaining just as quickly, "Yes, but I'm not sure which monster she is! There are millions! Or more!"

**I smiled uneasily at the fat lady. She smiled back, her forked tongue flickering between her teeth. **

"Forked tongue," Poseidon repeated, dumbfounded.

"_Forked tongue_?" screamed Athena hysterically.

"Forked tongue," Annabeth clarified.

**Wait a minute. **

**Forked tongue?**

**Before I could decide if I'd really seen that, her Chihuahua jumped down and started yapping at me. **

"Oh shoot," murmured Athena, coming back from her hysterical outburst. "_Shoot, shoot, shoot_!"

Realizing her mother had discovered just which monster Percy had encountered, Annabeth gestured for her to stay silent.

Athena disobeyed, however, screeching, "Does that terrible monster get you? Does she even try to approach you? Will she go down after finishing off sea spawn to finish _you_ off? How do you survive?" She began to hyperventilate.

"Mother, _I'm sitting right here_, alive and well. And don't hyperventilate!"

"**Now, now, sonny," the lady said. "Does this look like a good time? We have all these nice people here."**

"**Doggie!" said the little boy. "Look, a doggie!"**

"The guards couldn't see the dog, but the little boy can?" Apollo asked in interest.

"Perhaps she wove the Mist when they went past the guards at the beginning, and now loosened the Mist," offered Hermes.

"Or the little boy can see through it…" Hephaestus threw in.

**His parents pulled him back. **

"Can _they_ see it?" questioned Hera.

**The Chihuahua bared his teeth at me, foam dripping from his black lips. **

"**Well, son," the fat lady sighed. "If you insist."**

"ECHIDNA!" shouted Poseidon.

Zeus paled. "Echidna? Are you positive, brother?"

Poseidon nodded. "Forked tongue, and the Chihuahua isn't a Chihuahua at _all_! It's a Chimera!"

**Ice started forming in my stomach. "Um, did you just call that Chihuahua your son?"**

"And the Chimera is Echidna's son," Poseidon confirmed. He groaned. "Oh, why did the daughter of whatever-nickname-I-can't-think-up-because-I'm-worried-about-my-son and the satyr go?"

"_**Chimera**_**, dear," the fat lady corrected. "Not a Chihuahua. It's an easy mistake to make."**

No one spoke; just waited with bated breath for what was about to come. Annabeth also was on the edge of her seat. Percy had never told her the full story, just that the Mother of Monsters had nearly killed him and he jumped off the Arch. He never mentioned anything about the Chimera.

**She rolled up her denim sleeves, revealing that the skin of her arms was scaly and green. When she smiled, I saw that her teeth were fangs. The pupils of her eyes were sideways slits, like a reptile's. **

"Definitely Echidna," bemoaned Poseidon.

**The Chihuahua barked louder, and with each bark, it grew. First to the size of a Doberman, then to a lion. The bark became a roar. **

Rachel flinched. "These are the times when I wish I couldn't see through the Mist. Instead of seeing that, I'd just see a cute little cocker spaniel or something."

**The little boy screamed. His parents pulled him back toward the exit, straight into the park ranger, who stood, paralyzed, gaping at the monster. **

"They're not going to _do_ anything?" demanded Hera frantically. "What kind of park ranger _is_ this man?"

"A mortal one," Thalia reminded her stepmother sharply, though her brow was creased with worry. "None of those mortals could have done anything for Percy or get in the way of the Chimera and Echidna."

**The Chimera was now so tall its back rubbed against the roof. It had the head of a lion with a blood-caked mane, the body and hooves of a giant goat, and a serpent for a tail, a ten-foot-long diamondback growing right out of its shaggy behind. **

"That sounds terrifying," whimpered Hazel, conjuring the image in her mind.

Frank leaned over, wrapping a reassuring arm around her shoulders. "You weren't there, and Percy's alive," he reminded her. "That's all that counts."

Piper looked almost sick. "That _is_ a very terrifying image."

Leo managed to smile, despite the tense situation, and teased, "You're such a beauty queen, Pipes. Can't take a bit of scariness?"

"Be quiet, repair boy! You don't do anything except hide in the camp forges!" shot back Piper, though she was smiling.

Jason scowled fiercer than ever, lowering his head so no one would notice. Was his best friend _trying_ to steal his girlfriend now?

**The rhinestone dog collar still hung around its neck, and the plate-sized dog tag was now easy to read: CHIMERA – RABID, FIRE-BREATHING, POISONOUS – IF FOUND, PLEASE CALL TARTARUS – EXT. 954. **

"Oh, I picked up one of those calls once," Persephone disclosed. "I was in Tartarus because I was curious. It was toward the beginning of my imprisonment. The call was not pleasant. So I just hung up."

Hades shook his head. "And I stumbled across it a decade later."

**I realized I hadn't even uncapped my sword. **

"Oh that's not good…" Poseidon murmured.

**My hands were numb. I was ten feet away from the Chimera's bloody maw, and I knew that as soon as I moved, the creature would lunge. **

Athena nodded. "It will."

No one said a word, knowing that if Athena said so, it would probably come true. Unless, of course, Apollo said otherwise.

**The snake lady made a hissing noise that might've been laughter.**

"Echidna doesn't laugh," Aphrodite shared hoarsely. "She's such an unhappy person…"

"Yes, yes, we know. You're the happiest person in the world," snapped Poseidon. Realizing what he said, he apologized quickly, "I'm sorry, Aphrodite. I just lost my head."

Aphrodite smiled slightly. "It's perfectly fine."

"**Be honored, Percy Jackson. Lord Zeus rarely allows me to test a hero with one of my brood. **

"WHAT? _YOU_ SET THE MOTHER OF MONSTERS ON MY SON?" Poseidon yelled at the top of his lungs, glaring fiercely at Zeus.

Zeus flinched at the power, intensity, and fury ringing in Poseidon's tones. "Apparently so."

"YOU STUPID, INTOLERABLE, ARROGANT, AND GODS-KNOW-WHAT-ELSE _SCUM_! HOW DARE YOU?"

"Well, Hades saw it fit to do pretty much the same thing to my Thalia, so why not do it to your Percy?"

Instead of giving his younger brother the satisfaction of a clear answer, Poseidon responded, "What comes around goes around," with a terrible calmness.

**For I am the Mother of Monsters, the terrible Echidna!"**

**I stared at her. All I could think to say was: "Isn't that a kind of anteater?"**

Connor, Travis, Leo, Hermes, and Apollo burst into laughter.

"Only Perce would make that connection in the face of death!" Connor laughed.

Travis nodded proudly. "Haven't we taught him well, Connor?"

"You hardly _knew_ Percy at the time," Katie reminded them.

"We still influenced him!" cheered Connor.

"Of course they did! They're my sons! They can influence almost anybody in the way of being hilarious and lying!" Hermes cut in.

Aphrodite grinned. "But _my_ children have a better tool, Hermes: charmspeak. They can hypnotize anyone."

Piper's grin nearly mirrored her mother's. "But we only use it in life-or-death situations… that is, the reasonable ones."

"The car?" Jason reminded her.

The daughter of Aphrodite flushed. "I didn't know of my powers!"

"Riiiiiiiiiiight," Jason teased.

**She howled, her reptilian face turning brown and green with rage. "I hate it when people say that! I hate Australia! Naming that ridiculous animal after me. For that, Percy Jackson, my son shall destroy you!"**

"Because it's _so_ wonderful to have a Chimera as a son," Persephone spoke up sarcastically.

Artemis scoffed. "Children and men. Two huge wastes of time."

**The Chimera charged, its lion teeth gnashing. I managed to leap aside and dodge the bite. **

"Thank the gods," murmured Poseidon, rolling his eyes upward for a moment before looking back down at the page.

**I ended up next to the family and the park ranger, who were all screaming now, trying to pry open the emergency exit doors. **

"Useless mortals," Hera muttered half-heartedly as she worried for possibly only the second demigod she had ever favored… in her current time, that is.

Rachel looked offended. "I'm not useless!"

**I couldn't let them get hurt. **

Annabeth smiled wryly. Percy had left this particular statement out. "And out comes his noble side."

Athena frowned. "Is that his fatal flaw?"

None of the older Greek demigods would answer.

"THIS IS AMAZING!" Clarisse yelled suddenly. "SO MUCH WAR!"

"It's not exactly war, Clarisse," Will pointed out.

"FINE, ACTION! MORE!"

Ares nodded in agreement. "MORE WAR!"

"Crazy," muttered Artemis.

**I uncapped my sword, ran to the other side of the deck, and yelled, **

"Uh-oh. His yells usually aren't that good," Thalia commented.

"**Hey, Chihuahua!" The Chimera turned faster than I would've thought possible. **

"Of course. That Chimera is definitely above human speed," Hades said.

**Before I could swing my sword, it opened its mouth, emitting a stench like the world's largest barbecue pit, and shot a column of flame straight at me. **

Poseidon cringed, nearly dropping the book. "That Chimera better not flame my son, Zeus, or else…"

His voice was so threatening, even the King of the Gods had to flinch.

**I dove through the explosion. The carpet burst into flames; the heat was so intense, it nearly seared off my eyebrows. **

**Where I had been standing a moment before was a ragged hole in the side of the Arch, with melted metal steaming around the edges. **

Athena gasped. "They burned the Gateway Arch?"

Annabeth nodded grimly. "It was terrible to watch from down below."

**Great, I thought. We just blowtorched a national monument. **

"I'd be more worried about my life!" Jason exclaimed.

Reyna smiled slightly. Maybe Jason _was_ going to become more open-minded. Now, to work on Octavian…

**Riptide was now a shining bronze blade in my hands, and as the Chimera turned, I slashed at its neck. **

Almost everyone present groaned.

"Not the neck," moaned Poseidon. "That's not going to do anything good."

**That was my fatal mistake. **

Poseidon gasped. "_Fatal_?" he repeated, staring speechlessly at the word he had just read.

**The blade sparked harmlessly off the dog collar. **

Will cringed. "That's going to knock him off balance, and it will buy the Chimera and Echidna valuable time."

**I tried to regain my balance, but I was so worried about defending myself against the fiery lion's mouth, I completely forgot about the serpent tail until it whipped around and sank its fangs into my calf. **

"NO!" yelled Poseidon. "Poison! ZEUS!"

"Calm down, brother! It isn't over yet!" Zeus pleaded.

**My whole leg was on fire. I tried to jab Riptide into the Chimera's mouth, but the serpent tail wrapped around my ankles and pulled me off balance, and my blade flew out of my hand, spinning out of the hole in the Arch and down toward the Mississippi River. **

"Oh shoot," muttered Katie. "Without Riptide, it's a lost cause. _How_ is he still alive?"

Annabeth shook her head. "I'm pretty sure Grover and I saw the sword falling, and we were terrified. I have no clue how he survived. We were shocked when he… well, when we saw him."

**I managed to get to my feet, but I knew I had lost. I was weaponless. I could feel deadly poison racing up to my chest. **

"No," gasped Poseidon. "Don't reach the chest. Whatever you do, don't let it reach your chest!"

Remembering exactly where they were, Rachel cried, "Jump!"

Everyone looked at her like she was crazy.

"Jump into the river!" Rachel clarified.

**I remembered Chiron saying that Anaklusmos would always return to me, but there was no pen in my pocket. Maybe it had fallen too far away. **

"It will never be too far. But it takes time," Poseidon explained sadly. "I don't think there _will_ be enough time for it to return."

**Maybe it only returned when it was in pen form. I didn't know, and I wasn't going to live long enough to figure it out. **

"Yes you will," Will retorted fiercely.

"He lived a whole lot longer," Thalia whispered.

**I backed into the hole in the wall. The Chimera advanced, growling, smoke curling from its lips. The snake lady, Echidna, cackled. "They don't make heroes like they used to, eh, son?"**

"What's that supposed to mean?" demanded Poseidon.

"I think she's speaking of Hercules and Jason and all that," Athena answered. "They're much worthier heroes than this one is."

"Ah, but Hercules and Jason didn't save Olympus, did they?" Nico asked quietly.

No one heard him.

**The monster growled. It seemed in no hurry to finish me off now that I was beaten. **

"Buys him more time," Athena said, looking kind of unhappy.

"What kind of sick person are you? Wishing for an innocent boy to die?" Poseidon demanded of his enemy.

Athena, shocked, couldn't answer.

**I glanced at the park ranger and the family. The little boy was hiding behind his father's legs. I had to protect these people. **

"Noble, so noble," whispered Annabeth with a smile. Thoughts were racing around her brain, centering around the recollection of Percy emerging from the dirty river.

**I couldn't just... die. I tried to think, but my whole body was on fire. My head felt dizzy. I had no sword. I was facing a massive, fire-breathing monster and its mother. And I was scared. **

Hestia smiled gently. "If he wasn't scared, he'd be heartless. And a heartless hero is a worthless hero."

"Wise words, Lady Hestia," complimented Athena.

**There was no place else to go, so I stepped to the edge of the hole. Far, far below, the river glittered. **

"Jump!" Poseidon urged. "You must jump!"

**If I died, would the monsters go away? Would they leave the humans alone?**

"Willing to sacrifice himself for mere strangers…" observed Hera in awe. "He received the selfless genes from his mother, no doubt."

"Thanks, sister," Poseidon answered.

"**If you are the son of Poseidon," Echidna hissed, "you would not fear water. **

"He doesn't fear water!" Poseidon defended his son. "He's _dying_!"

"Oh, save it! Just jump!" cried Persephone.

**Jump, Percy Jackson. Show me that water will not harm you. Jump and retrieve your sword. Prove your bloodline."**

"_Jump_!" Poseidon urged more forcefully and frantically.

"He doesn't trust you," Hestia realized. "He doesn't trust in the powers of the gods."

**Yeah, right, I thought. I'd read somewhere that jumping into water from a couple of stories up was like jumping onto solid asphalt. From here, I'd splatter on impact. **

"No you won't!" Poseidon argued. "You're _my son_! Water cannot harm you at all! Unless it is one of the rivers of the Underworld, such as the Styx and Lethe! Just _jump_!"

And deciding to hold in his urges, Poseidon read on.

**The Chimera's mouth glowed red, heating up for another blast. **

"Jump!" Poseidon yelled, breaking his resolve. "Just _jump_! Don't let that creature blowtorch you like it did the Arch!"

"Read!" Zeus ordered.

"**You have no faith," Echidna told me. "You do not trust the gods. I cannot blame you, little coward. **

"Little coward?" demanded Annabeth. "_Little coward_? How dare she! Percy's the bravest hero to ever walk the earth! He would sacrifice himself a million times just to make sure we were safe and happy! The cowards are the Ares folk!"

"Excuse me?" yelled Ares.

"You're widely known as a coward! And Percy's not a coward and never has been!"

**Better you die now. The gods are faithless. **

"We are not faithless!" protested Apollo. He looked around at the demigods. "Right?"

No one made eye contact or spoke.

**The poison is in your heart."**

**She was right: I was dying. I could feel my breath slowing down. Nobody could save me, not even the gods. **

"Yes I can! Just jump into the river already and I'll save you! Water can heal you!" Poseidon reminded his book-son.

"Poseidon, _read_!" Demeter cried.

**I backed up and looked down at the water. I remembered the warm glow of my father's smile when I was a baby. He must have seen me. He must have visited me when I was in my cradle. **

Letting go of his fear for a moment, Poseidon smiled tenderly. "I did," he said, confirming it yet again. "I put all the ancient laws and Zeus's laws to Tartarus. I visited my son."

The demigods tried not to let their jealousy show, even though they _were_ in the presence of their godly parent at the moment… except for Reyna, whose mother wasn't part of the Olympian council at this time.

**I remembered the swirling green trident that had appeared above my head the night of capture the flag, when Poseidon had claimed me as his son. **

**But this wasn't the sea. This was the Mississippi, dead center of the USA. There was no Sea God here.**

"But the river spirits obey me! They are very nearly my subjects! They are part of water! They can heal you! _Just jump_!"

"**Die, faithless one," Echidna rasped, and the Chimera sent a column of flame toward my face. **

Poseidon's voice nearly broke at the end of the sentence; he was so worried.

"Would you like me to read, Lord Poseidon?" Annabeth offered quietly.

The Sea God shook his head quickly, declining the offer. "No thank you, Annabeth. There's only a couple of sentences left anyway."

Annabeth nodded in understanding. "Yes, Lord Poseidon."

"**Father, help me," I prayed. **

"There's no way I'm going to let you die at twelve! Just _jump_, and I will!" shouted Poseidon, the book tumbling to the floor. He leaned down, picked it up, and read.

**I turned and jumped. **

After just four words, Poseidon dropped the book into his lap again with a loud sigh. "Thank the gods."

No one bothered to joke, most feeling relief as well.

**My clothes on fire, poison coursing through my veins, I plummeted toward the river. **

"I swear, by the end of these books, I will have multiple heart attacks, and gods can't even get heart attacks!" Poseidon said. "Who would like to read next?"

"I will," volunteered Jason.

Looking surprised, Poseidon masked it quickly and stood up, handing the book to the Roman. "Here you go."

"Thank you, Lord Neptune."

Poseidon flickered helplessly for a moment, and then returned to his original form. He smiled softly at the boy. "You're welcome, Jason."

He resettled in his seat, and Jason opened to the page that the next chapter began on. He opened his mouth and –

"Stop! Weren't we supposed to take a break?" Hera asked.

Poseidon chuckled dryly. "Are you crazy? I need to find out if those river spirits actually listened to me and my son is alive. Break after this."

Hera nodded, not wishing to begin another fight. "Go on, son of Jupiter," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm and light fury.

Unfazed, Jason began again.

x.o.x.o.x.

A/N: Kind of late, I know, but I've been busy. Homework takes up a lot of time. I want to update on a weekly basis, on the weekends. I work on the chapters in snippets during the week. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! See you next weekend, and have a great week! May the gods bless you. ;)

OH, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR GETTING THIS STORY'S REVIEWS OVER 200! 


	15. I Become a Known Fugitive

A/N: I'm so sorry for this being late! But I'm sick with a fever and just wanted to sleep, so… Well, anyway, this is the only chapter I have completed. I hope you enjoy, and I'm sorry for the wait!

x.o.x.o.x.

**I Become a Known Fugitive**, read Jason, and then raised an eyebrow. "A known fugitive?"

Thalia laughed nervously. When her brother looked at her, she shrugged and replied, "It just sounds like such pure Percy."

The older Greek demigods, Frank, Hazel, and even Reyna nodded in agreement.

Jason flipped forward, presumably to the end of the chapter. "I got possibly the shortest chapter of this book. It's pretty short."

**I'd love to tell you I had some deep revelation on my way down, that I came to terms with my own mortality, laughed in the face of death, et cetera. **

Apollo nodded importantly. "I would do the same thing! Because only we awesomely cool people do that."

Artemis rolled her eyes. "Apollo, you're _immortal_. You have no mortality to come to terms with, and you won't be falling to your death anytime soon."

"But we half-human awesomely cool people can," cheered Travis.

**The truth? My only thought was: Aaaaggghhhhh!**

"That," Nico pointed out, "is a lot more realistic."

"Yeah, but what's the fun in realism?" challenged Connor, and laughed at the look on Nico's face.

**The river raced toward me at the speed of a truck. Wind ripped the breath from my lungs. Steeples and skyscrapers and bridges tumbled in and out of my vision. **

Katie winced. "That must be terrifying. It would be like a fast-forwarding DVD or something."

Demeter's eyes widened. "You _watch_ that wretched contraption? It's terrible for your influence! You'd do much better to watch a bowl of cereal day after day."

"Mother, there's absolutely no way I'm going to watch a white bowl filled with brown stuff for twenty-four hours seven days a week," Katie replied.

Persephone nodded in approval. "She's right, Mother. That's completely unreasonable. Even I would never have done that, even in the early years of being in our kingdom."

**And then: **_**Flaaa-boooom!**_

Stifling a laugh, Will commented, "Percy's sound effects/descriptions are pretty… accurate, I guess?"

**A whiteout of bubbles. I sank through the murk, sure that I was about to end up embedded in a hundred feet of mud and lost forever. **

Poseidon cringed. "The Mississippi _is_ pretty toxic. I should get it cleaned."

"Just because your son plunges into it?" Hera asked skeptically.

Her brother nodded. "Of course! In future, it shouldn't be _this_ toxic when he tumbles into it. It's terrible. Maybe I'll get naiads or something to clean the rivers on a regular basis. It will make those river spirits happy."

**But my impact with the water hadn't hurt. **

Poseidon's eyes rolled. "Of course it didn't. If it did, you wouldn't be my son, would you?"

"Quit talking to a book," snapped Athena. "In fact, I'm surprised you even know what one looks like."

"I happen to have one of the largest libraries in my palace," Poseidon said, supposedly to the room at large because he refused to make eye contact with the goddess of wisdom. "And I go in there at least twice a day."

**I was falling slowly now, bubbles trickling up through my fingers. I settled on the river bottom soundlessly. A catfish the size of my stepfather **

"That's one huge catfish," remarked Frank.

Hazel nodded thoughtfully. "Do you have any of those near your palace, Lord Poseidon?" She was the first Roman to not mess up the gods' names.

Poseidon grinned. "Maybe. But maybe I should banish them to the rivers, because I'll think of Smelly Gabe every time I see one."

**lurched away into the gloom. Clouds of silt and disgusting garbage – beer bottles, old shoes, plastic bags – swirled up all around me. **

"Definitely disgusting," confirmed Demeter. "Why do you let the rivers' sanitary needs go, brother?"

Poseidon shrugged. "As our other two brothers will tell you, dear sister, running a kingdom is quite hard. We can't always concentrate on each individual need, especially in the smaller parts, such as rivers in my case."

"But pollution is terrible for the earth! My wheat complain to me every day, and it's getting annoying!"

"I can't do a thing about your wheat, Demeter, I rule the seas, not the earth. Don't you work the earth?"

Demeter fell silent.

**At that point, I realized a few things: first, I had not been flattened into a pancake. **

"Pancakes are good," nodded Hermes.

"With butter and syrup!" added Travis.

**I had not been barbecued. **

"Barbecue is good too!" cheered Connor.

"Especially corn," Demeter shared.

"Corn, blah! The chicken is the best!" Apollo waved her off.

**I couldn't even feel the Chimera poison boiling in my veins anymore. **

Thalia raised an eyebrow. "Water can extract the poison from him? It can save his life?"

Jason reread the sentence, and then nodded in confirmation. "It seems like it's true."

"That's so unfair! _We_ can't be saved by air! Air can't take the poison from us," grumped Thalia.

"That's why being a child of mine is so much cooler," smirked Poseidon.

**I was alive, which was good. **

"Yeah. Then I can beat him to a pulp!" exclaimed Clarisse.

"Are we talking about orange juice?" Piper asked innocently.

**Second realization: I wasn't wet. **

"That's a good thing. Otherwise, we'd question your gender," teased Hermes.

"Is _everything_ an innuendo to you?" Athena asked exasperatedly.

"I have a twisted mind," was all Hermes would answer.

"_That's_ for sure," muttered Artemis. "Boys."

**I mean, I could feel the coolness of the water. I could see where the fire on my clothes had been quenched. But when I touched my own shirt, it felt perfectly dry. **

Poseidon grinned. "Of course it was dry. You don't get soaked underwater."

"Why can't we have those powers, Dad?" complained Apollo.

Zeus rolled his eyes. "Quit your complaining, Apollo. You get to drive the sun across the sky every morning for Hades' sake, and you're complaining?"

"Yeah! It's so taxing!"

"Oh, shut up. I have to take over your shifts during the winter because you like to sleep in! That's why my moon is up longer," snapped Artemis.

Apollo pouted. "Yeah, but I'm up there longer during the summer!"

Artemis grinned. "I got the better end of the deal, I think."

**I looked at the garbage floating by and snatched an old cigarette lighter. **

Frank snorted. "What? Is he going to smoke?"

"Yes, Frank," Hazel answered with a completely straight face.

**No way, I thought. **

Poseidon began to smile, knowing what his son was thinking. "Yes way," he contradicted.

"What?" Apollo asked eagerly.

His uncle just shook his head and replied, "Just listen."

**I flicked the lighter. It sparked. A tiny flame appeared, right there at the bottom of the Mississippi. **

"Awesome," breathed Will. "It's like a flame battling with the water! Is that even _possible_? For a flame to exist underwater?"

Athena considered this. "Well, seeing as it's connected at the moment to a person who can repel wetness, I guess so."

Leo laughed. "I just realized that I could be a fierce enemy of Percy's. He's water, I'm fire. But then again, he's too cool a dude. I'd rather be his friend!"

**I grabbed a soggy hamburger wrapper out of the current and immediately the paper turned dry. **

"That is awesome," yelled Hermes. "Can't we get a bit of those powers, Uncle P?"

Poseidon chuckled. "Sorry, nope, Hermes. I'm not your father. Thankfully," he added.

Hermes pouted. "What's wrong with me as a son?"

"Lots of things," mumbled Zeus.

Poseidon smirked. "Just what your father said, little Hermes."

"I'm not little!"

**I lit it with no problem. As soon as I let it go, the flames sputtered out. The wrapper turned back into a slimy rag. Weird. **

"No, cool!" argued Thalia. She rethought it. "Well, actually, being able to use electricity with my bare hands is pretty cool too."

Apollo pouted an almost exact replica of Hermes's pout. "Daaaaaaaaaad, why can't _we_ get some of your awesome powers?"

**But the strangest thought occurred to me only last: I was breathing. I was underwater, and I was breathing normally. **

Annabeth rolled her eyes but not without a fond smile on her lips. "That's Seaweed Brain for ya."

Katie laughed. "Of course, only Percy would realize that he can breathe underwater after all the other crazy stuff."

**I stood up, thigh-deep in mud. My legs felt shaky. My hands trembled. I should've been dead. **

"No…" Hera trailed off thoughtfully. "Perhaps the Fates don't believe that he has had his destiny fulfilled yet."

**The fact that I wasn't seemed like... well, a miracle. I imagined a woman's voice, a voice that sounded a bit like my mother: **_**Percy, what do you say?**_

Will chuckled. "He just fell from, like, 600 feet in the air into water and he imagines his mother's voice telling him to mind his manners."

"Manners? What eez thees manners you speak of?" asked Connor.

"**Um... thanks." Underwater, I sounded like I did on recordings, like a much older kid. "Thank you... Father."**

Poseidon smiled. "You're welcome."

The demigods tried to hide their jealousy. Well, the Romans did, because the older Greeks were used to Percy having the most caring godly parent.

"Lucky stiff," murmured Piper.

Leo just couldn't miss this opportunity to tease her. "You're pretty lucky too, beauty queen. You get free makeovers whenever you want them!"

"Or whenever I _don't_ want them," mumbled Piper. Out loud, she said, "Shut up, repair boy. _And don't call me beauty queen_!"

**No response. Just the dark drift of garbage downriver, the enormous catfish gliding by, **

Demeter shivered. "That image is quite disturbing. Can't you find some way to feed that catfish cereal?"

"Yeah, that'd help," muttered Hades.

**the flash of sunset on the water's surface far above, turning everything the color of butterscotch. **

**Why had Poseidon saved me? **

Poseidon looked shocked. "I saved you because you're my son and I love you, of course!"

Jason set down the book and looked at his father. Well, the Greek version of his father. "Why can't you be more like Lord Neptune, Father? It's like you have no care for your demigod children except when they're about to die or if they do something _extraordinary_."

Zeus had the sense to look ashamed.

Seeing this, Jason decided to let it go and picked up the book again, preparing to read.

**The more I thought about it, the more ashamed I felt. So I'd gotten lucky a few times before. Against a thing like the Chimera, I had never stood a chance. **

"Yes you do! You did and you still do!" protested Annabeth.

**Those poor people in the Arch were probably toast. I couldn't protect them. I was no hero. **

"That's just going too far," declared Thalia.

Katie nodded in agreement. "Percy _is_ a hero. Possibly one of the best in history."

Annabeth smiled sadly. "Luke," was all she said.

Hermes looked at her in interest. "Luke?" he repeated.

The girl just shook her head, indicating that she would say no more.

**Maybe I should just stay down here with the catfish, join the bottom feeders. **

"Self-esteem issues," snorted Athena.

_**Fump-fump-fump**_**. A riverboat's paddlewheel churned above me, swirling the silt around. **

**There, not five feet in front of me, was my sword, its gleaming bronze hilt sticking up in the mud. **

"It hasn't returned to him yet?" Reyna asked.

"Apparently not," Poseidon responded, frowning.

**I heard that woman's voice again: **_**Percy, take the sword. Your father believes in you.**_

Poseidon nodded. "I _do_ believe in you." Then he hesitated, looking toward Jason, but when the boy didn't say anything, he relaxed. He had no wish for there to be a fight between his brother and nephew at the moment.

**This time, I knew the voice wasn't in my head. I wasn't imagining it. Her words seemed to come from everywhere, rippling through the water like dolphin sonar. **

"Really? His mother's there?" Hazel asked excitedly.

Poseidon shook his head slowly. "I don't think so." He frowned. "Unfortunately. It's probably someone I sent to deliver a message."

"Me?" Hermes inquired, sitting up.

"Probably not."

"**Where are you?" I called aloud.**

"Not _who_ are you?" Reyna checked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nope," Jason responded, rereading the sentence.

**Then, through the gloom, I saw her – a woman the color of the water, a ghost in the current, floating just above the sword. **

Poseidon nodded. "Probably a naiad."

**She had long billowing hair, and her eyes, barely visible, were green like mine. **

"Does Sally have green eyes?" Athena questioned.

Annabeth shook her head. "No. She has blue eyes that sometimes change in the light."

"So it isn't his mother?" Athena clarified.

"Nope," Annabeth confirmed.

**A lump formed in my throat. I said, "Mom?"**

_**No, child, only a messenger, though your mother's fate is not as hopeless as you believe. Go to the beach in Santa Monica. **_

Poseidon frowned. "Why am I asking him to go to… Oh!"

Athena looked frustrated. "What?"

The Sea God smirked at her. "I'd like to cherish this moment a bit longer, Yellow-Eyes. I know something you don't!"

"Yellow-Eyes?" Athena demanded, growling.

"Owls have yellow eyes," Poseidon explained simply, shrugging.

"**What?"**

_**It is your father's will. Before you descend into the Underworld, you must go to Santa Monica. Please, Percy, I cannot stay long. The river here is too foul for my presence. **_

"Brother, is this one of your tricks?" Hades questioned sharply.

Poseidon shrugged. "Perhaps so, perhaps not."

"Just give us a straight answer, why can't you?"

"**But..." I was sure this woman was my mother, or a vision of her, anyway. "Who –how did you–"**

**There was so much I wanted to ask, the words jammed up in my throat. **

Poseidon flinched, not liking the idea of his son suffering so much emotional pain.

_**I cannot stay, brave one**_**, the woman said. She reached out, and I felt the current brush my face like a caress. **

"That's awesome," voiced Frank. "I wish I could breathe underwater!"

Hazel looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Frank, you can turn into-" She cut herself off as some of the older Greek demigods (cough, _Annabeth_, cough) glanced warningly at her. They didn't know, but they didn't want to until it came up in the books and so the gods would be kept in the dark.

The gods looked curiously at her.

"Yes?" Hades asked, flickering to his Pluto form.

Hazel shook her head. "Nothing… just that Frank can turn into a real deadly enemy if he wants to," she improvised quickly.

Most of the Olympians turned away, but Hades didn't. He looked at his Roman daughter carefully, but turned away after a moment.

Hazel breathed a sigh of relief.

_**You must go to Santa Monica! And, Percy, do not trust the gifts... **_

"Gifts?" repeated Athena.

Annabeth shrugged mysteriously.

**Her voice faded. **

"**Gifts?" I asked. "What gifts? Wait!"**

"She's gone," Poseidon clarified.

**She made one more attempt to speak, but the sound was gone. Her image melted away. If it was my mother, I had lost her again. **

Thalia shook her head slowly and sadly. "I know Percy truly wants his mother back more than anything in the world, but the woman could not have been Sally Jackson. She basically blended into the water and could speak. Plus, Lord Hades never would have allowed to her go, I suppose."

Hades didn't even try to contradict her; he knew that this, at least, was true.

**I felt like drowning myself. The only problem: I was immune to drowning. **

Poseidon smiled dryly. "Yes, what a letdown. I apologize for being your father so that you cannot drown."

"This is no time for joking, Poseidon!" Hera snapped. "Your son's unhappy, and all you can do is _joke_ about it?"

Taking pity on the Greek version of his uncle, Jason cut off whatever Hera was about to say next by reading the next line.

_**Your father believes in you**_**, she had said. **

Partially trying to redeem himself, but mostly sincerely, Poseidon declared, "I _do_ believe in him. He will do many amazing things, I know. _Plenty_ of them."

"Are you an oracle, Uncle P? Why didn't you _tell_ me?" teased Apollo.

**She'd also called me brave... unless she was talking to the catfish. **

"Ah, the catfish that resembles his stepfather," Persephone commented in disgust. She waved it off. "Unless a catfish is _brave_ for eating more than its stomach can hold, I doubt it is brave at _all_. Of _course_ she was talking to you, child."

**I waded toward Riptide and grabbed it by the hilt. The Chimera might still be up there with its snaky, fat mother, waiting to finish me off. **

"Isn't that a pleasant thought," Piper said sarcastically.

"Something you can sleep to happy dreams with," Leo agreed.

**At the very least, the mortal police would be arriving, **

"Pah! The mortal police would _never_ be able to find them. I mean, they haven't _yet_, have they?" Demeter pointed out.

"Pah?" Hades mocked.

"Oh, shut up!"

Persephone chuckled. "You two are such siblings."

**trying to figure out who had blown a hole in the Arch. If they found me, they'd have some questions. **

"Really?" asked Reyna in mock-awe. "They'd have _questions_? I never would have thought of that!"

Jason looked at her almost admiringly. "You know how to use sarcasm, Reynie?"

"_Reynie_?" Reyna repeated angrily. When her former co-praetor simply shrugged, she snapped, "Of course I do. How else do you suppose I deal with those troublemaking sons of Mercury?"

Jason shrugged again. "Well, you're always so uptight, we weren't sure." He grinned cheekily.

Reyna glared at him fiercely. "I am uptight for a reason, Jason. And that reason is to be sure that there is no turmoil at Camp Jupiter. I can't let everything run away from my control!"

"Blah, blah, blah," Jason teased, cutting off the certain biting retort that was to come by continuing to read.

None of them noticed Piper surveying the pair curiously and… even a little jealously.

**I capped my sword, stuck the ballpoint pen in my pocket. "Thank you, Father," I said again to the dark water. **

Poseidon grinned. "You're very welcome, son."

Hestia smiled in that gentle way of hers, the warm flames in her eyes dancing. "Your son is very well-mannered, brother."

"Thank you, sister."

**Then I kicked up through the muck and swam for the surface. **

Hearing mention of the 'muck', Poseidon grimaced. "I _really_ need to get that particular river cleaned."

**I came ashore next to a floating McDonald's. **

Hermes sighed dreamily. "Ah, the legendary floating McDonald's. You have no idea how happy I was when they built it!"

Artemis rolled her eyes. "We do have an idea, actually, Hermes. You wouldn't stop chattering about all your plans to eat there and bless it or whatever for _two decades_. A typical male reaction, of course."

"Oh, come on, sis!" Apollo chimed in. "You _need_ to let up on males once in a while! Because we're awesome!"

Artemis clearly decided not to waste her breath on a response.

**A block away, every emergency vehicle in St. Louis was surrounding the Arch. Police helicopters circled overhead. The crowd of onlookers reminded me of Times Square on New Year's Eve. **

"Well, I guess it _is_ quite a big event," Nico commented. "Barely any exciting stuff happens in Missouri, does it?"

Annabeth shrugged. "Not a big state you hear about in the news… _usually_."

**A little girl said, "Mama! That boy walked out of the river."**

"Children are so observant," Artemis remarked with a smile.

Apollo looked at her with the expression of bewilderment on his face. "Just last chapter you were bashing kids! What's with the mood swings, sis?"

His twin rolled her eyes. "I'm the goddess of childbirth as well, Apollo. Of course I like children. As for the males, I don't care much for them once they become pre-teens or teenagers, when the idiocy starts. I guess I was in the middle of a temper flare and wasn't thinking."

"**That's nice, dear," her mother said, craning her neck to watch the ambulances. **

"**But he's dry!"**

"See? Observant!" Artemis cried triumphantly.

"Yes, we know," Apollo comforted her gently.

Artemis glared at him.

"**That's nice, dear."**

"And apparently adults are _un_observant," commented Athena.

**A news lady was talking for the camera: "Probably not a terrorist attack, we're told, but it's still very early in the investigation. **

"Of course it wasn't a terrorist attack," sighed Reyna. "It doesn't have the aspects of a terrorist attack. Unless, of course, you count a crazy, fat old lady and her Chimera as terrorists."

"They're pretty terrifying, mind you," Annabeth replied, but her grey eyes were laughing. "But, of course, only Percy would be able to tell you _just_ how terrifying they are."

**The damage, as you can see, is very serious. We're trying to get to some of the survivors, to question them about eyewitness reports of someone falling from the Arch."**

"Survivors," repeated Thalia.

Annabeth smiled. "That probably put Seaweed Brain's nerves at ease."

**Survivors. I felt a surge of relief. **

While Nico was wailing Thalia going to the dark side, Annabeth grinned happily.

"I was right," she declared.

Travis grinned teasingly back. "Yeah, but you know Perce like no one else does."

Annabeth choked and pulled out her knife. "This is a clean blade, Travis, but it might just be covered in a _certain_ red liquid from your body in a few seconds."

**Maybe the park ranger and that family made it out safely. I hoped Annabeth and Grover were okay. **

The mentioned girl smiled. "Grover and I were okay."

Athena exhaled heavily. "Thank you for that piece of reassurance, daughter."

Annabeth shrugged in response.

**I tried to push through the crowd to see what was going on inside the police line. **

"**... An adolescent boy," **

"Nice description," Poseidon commented sarcastically.

**another reporter was saying. "Channel Five has learned that surveillance cameras show an adolescent boy going wild on the observation deck, somehow setting off this freak explosion. Hard to believe, John, but that's what we're hearing. Again, no confirmed fatalities..."**

"Good," Hestia smiled.

Poseidon, however, was worried. "How did they capture that? Shouldn't the Mist mess up the actual image?"

Athena, being the 'smart' one, thought this over. "Well, it _is_ for mortal eyes, even over the camera, so yes, it should have, but it wouldn't have _completely_ blocked the image."

**I backed away, trying to keep my head down. I had to go a long way around the police perimeter. Uniformed officers and news reporters were everywhere. **

"It _is_ a pretty big deal," Reyna pointed out. "It _is_ a national landmark, and when the Twin Towers were attacked, it was a _huge_ deal. This is just a fraction of that, I think."

**I'd almost lost hope of ever finding Annabeth and Grover when a familiar voice bleated, "Perrr-cy!"**

Connor grinned. "Only Grover could do that! In a public place such as St. Louis, of course. In Camp Half-Blood, I suppose the other satyrs could…"

Will looked shocked. "Are you actually _thinking_, Stoll?"

"Of course not!" Travis defended his brother.

**I turned and got tackled by Grover's bear hug – or goat hug. He said, "We thought you'd gone to Hades the hard way!"**

Hades chuckled evilly. "I probably would have ruled for him to go to Tartarus."

"What _for_?" demanded Hera, just as Poseidon snarled, "You'll do no such thing!" and Persephone gasped, "I will not allow it!"

Hades rolled his eyes. "Well, _dear_ sister of mine, for being an illegal child, that's what! He deserves eternal punishment for that. And _darling_ brother of mine, it _is_ my realm. I can do as I wish. And my love…" He trailed off, having no response for her.

The Queen of the Underworld smiled triumphantly. "Do not worry, Lady Hera and Lord Poseidon. Mark my words, whenever the boy dies, he will receive the best of eternal life in Elysium… that is, if he shows himself to be worthy of it."

"I have no doubt of that," Poseidon declared.

Remembering the Sea God vouching for his son, Annabeth smiled. _She_ had no doubt of Poseidon's faithfulness.

**Annabeth stood behind him, trying to look angry, but even she seemed relieved to see me. **

"Of _course_ you were," teased Travis.

"Do you _really_ want a knife through your heart, Stoll?"

"**We can't leave you alone for five minutes! What happened?"**

"**I sort of fell."**

"**Percy! Six hundred and thirty feet?"**

"Leave it to Annabeth to memorize a fact like that," Thalia said, grinning.

Apollo's expression was clueless. "What fact?"

Thalia rolled her eyes at her half-brother. "The fact that the St. Louis Arch is six hundred and thirty feet above the Mississippi River, of course!"

"Oh."

"Smooth, Apollo," chuckled Hermes.

**Behind us, a cop shouted, "Gangway!" The crowd parted, and a couple of paramedics hustled out, rolling a woman on a stretcher. I recognized her immediately as the mother of the little boy who'd been on the observation deck. She was saying, "And then this huge dog, this huge fire-breathing Chihuahua–"**

Now, Zeus was looking concerned. "Is the Mist not working? Maybe the boy wouldn't have been obscured, but the Chimera? It _did_ shoot fire, and the mortal woman saw it!"

"**Okay, ma'am," the paramedic said. "Just calm down. Your family is fine. The medication is starting to kick in."**

"**I'm not crazy! This boy jumped out of the hole and the monster disappeared." Then she saw me. "There he is! That's the boy!"**

Poseidon flinched. "Shoot. Move. _Get away_."

**I turned quickly and pulled Annabeth and Grover after me. We disappeared into the crowd. **

Poseidon exhaled loudly. "Thanks for listening to me."

Annabeth chuckled. "Thank the gods."

"You're welcome," Hermes and Apollo chimed as one.

"**What's going on?" Annabeth demanded. "Was she talking about the Chihuahua on the elevator?"**

"That was no Chihuahua," Annabeth contradicted herself grimly.

**I told them the whole story of the Chimera, Echidna, my high-dive act, and the underwater lady's message. **

"Didn't you say you didn't know the whole story?" Thalia asked the daughter of Athena.

She flushed. "I forgot…"

"Annabeth Chase _forgot_?" teased Connor.

"**Whoa," said Grover. "We've got to get you to Santa Monica! You can't ignore a summons from your dad."**

"That's right, you _never_ ignore a summons from your godly parent," Ares grunted. "Unless you're a child of mine and want to see a fight. I'm all for disobeying your parents."

**Before Annabeth could respond, we passed another reporter doing a news break, and I almost froze in my tracks when he said, "Percy Jackson. **

"Shoot," Poseidon repeated. "_Get out of there_. They're starting to realize who he is. _Stupid catfish_!"

"Catfish?" repeated Athena with a raised eyebrow.

"That _wreck_ he calls his stepfather," Poseidon snarled.

**That's right, Dan. Channel Twelve has learned that the boy who may have caused this explosion fits the description of a young man wanted by authorities for a serious New Jersey bus accident three days ago. **

"Actually, that was the three Furies. But you know, technicalities," remarked Will.

"Yeah," Leo added. "Technicalities."

**And the boy is believed to be traveling west. For our viewers at home, here is a photo of Percy Jackson."**

"And now _more_ publicity for him," groaned Poseidon. "Just what he needs during a quest."

Hazel laughed. "Leave it to Percy to get the most publicity during a quest, right?"

"There's no such thing as bad publicity," joked Nico.

**We ducked around the news van and slipped into an alley. **

"**First things first," I told Grover. "We've got to get out of town!"**

"Good. Either he has common sense, or he's listening to me," Poseidon commented.

"Probably the latter, since he _has_ no common sense," laughed Annabeth.

**Somehow, we made it back to the Amtrak station without getting spotted. We got on board the train just before it pulled out for Denver. The train trundled west as darkness fell, police lights still pulsing against the St. Louis skyline behind us. **

Jason closed the book, remarking, "What a dramatic ending. And I'm lucky." He grinned. "I got the shortest chapter of the book."

"Yeah, yeah, keep rubbing it in," teased Piper, reaching over to her boyfriend. "Can I read next?"

When she smiled her dazzling smile at him, Jason momentarily forgot about the book. _Maybe I was just being paranoid. Leo would never take Piper away from me, and she would never leave me for him… would she?_ He was shaken back to earth by Hera saying, "We'll take a break first, instead of reading. But yes, daughter of Aphrodite, you may read next." She said 'daughter of Aphrodite' like it tasted bad, probably because Aphrodite cheated on her son to create this girl, and because Aphrodite was much more beautiful than she was.

Jason handed the book to his girlfriend. "Just leave it on the chair," he told her, smiling. "You can pick up when we return from the break."

Piper grinned back, replying, "I have common sense, Jason, unlike Percy." She accepted the book and did just as Jason suggested.

"Snacks are in the kitchen, you can eat in the dining hall. Many rooms are off-limits to you, but you're welcome to go into the library, game room, technology room, or the rooms you slept in last night," explained Athena. "We'll meet back here in the throne room in an hour. And if you get lost, just say one of our names. Preferably your godly parent's, because we can hear you. Dismissed."

As they exited the room, Thalia whispered to Annabeth, "Your mother sounds like a teacher."

Annabeth shrugged indifferently. "Maybe so, but she _is_ the wisdom goddess, and teachers have to have wisdom, so she's like a teacher, I guess."

Thalia looked away, knowing that Annabeth would never say a word against her mother, unless the goddess insulted one of Annabeth's friends, especially Percy, in an extreme way.

x.o.x.o.x.

A/N: I'm sorry again! Hopefully next week will be better, but I have no guarantees. Love you all!


	16. A God Buys Us Cheeseburgers

A/N: This chapter is going to cover the break between the chapters as well as lunch!

x.o.x.o.x.

As the demigods were filing out of the throne room, Aphrodite called out, "Daughter of Athena?"

Instinctively, Annabeth turned to face the Goddess of Love with an inquisitive look. Athena, however, glared fiercely at the same goddess, suspicious as to her intentions.

Catching the Goddess of Wisdom's suspicious look, Aphrodite simply smiled. "Might I speak with you before lunch in the gardens?"

Confused, Annabeth agreed. "All right, Lady Aphrodite, but may I ask why?"

"Just for a little… insight of the life of demigods," Aphrodite responded cryptically, a smirk firmly in place on her beautiful face.

Annabeth shrugged. "Very well, Lady Aphrodite. I'll meet you there in a few minutes, is that okay?"

"Perfectly all right," Aphrodite agreed. "Now go join your friends."

Once her daughter was out of earshot, Athena demanded, "What do you want with my daughter, Aphrodite?"

Aphrodite laughed. "Oh, don't worry your little head about it, Athena darling. I simply want insight, as I explained."

"Insight!" scoffed Athena. "You cannot fool me, Aphrodite. You wish to pry into my daughter's love life in the future, don't you? Well, I would strongly suggest that you don't, because number one, I can throw a good flock of owls and ruin your perfect hair. Number two, shouldn't you know these things? It's your specialty, after all."

"It is the _future_, Athena!" Aphrodite threw her hands up in exasperation. "I can only do my thing if the Fates allow. So I want to see if the Fates agree with me in the future!" She smiled blindingly and rose from her throne, making a mirror appear from thin air. As she checked her reflection, she told the council, "I'll be out in the gardens conversing with the girl. Ta-ta!" And she vanished in a cloud of rose-smelling perfume.

Athena, coughing, spat, "She's incorrigible! Can't she tone down on the perfume when she teleports? And why can't she just leave our children alone?"

Zeus suppressed a chuckle. "She's Aphrodite, Athena. Without all the flair, she'd never be her. Now go read a good book or something. For lord's sake, go _write_ a good book! I daresay you could finish one before we start lunch."

Athena beamed with pride. "Very well, Father. See you all later," she bid the rest of the council before vanishing with a faint smell of olives.

Poseidon rolled his eyes. "And she says Aphrodite's the dramatic one." He shot a glance at Zeus. "Though, being your daughter, brother, it's no surprise."

"Quit with the dramatic jokes!" Zeus groaned. "Council dismissed," he added.

Most of the gods and goddesses teleported out, except for the Big Three and Persephone.

"Persephone? Is something wrong?" Poseidon inquired with concern.

The Spring Goddess shook her head and smiled warmly at all three of the gods. "I just wanted to say thank you, Father, for splitting my time wisely." And with that, she made to teleport, but Poseidon interrupted her attempt.

"Persephone. Stay strong," he told her, his undertone making sense only to her.

The goddess simply smiled again before disappearing in a whirl of pomegranates and flowers.

"What was that about?" Hades demanded of his brother.

Poseidon just smiled mysteriously. "Go enjoy your break, brother," he answered, before also disappearing, he in an aroma of saltwater and sea breeze.

Zeus shrugged, knowing that Poseidon wouldn't say a thing until he deemed himself ready. "Just let it go, Hades," he advised. "See you in an hour at lunch." And he also disappeared, in a scent of ozone.

x.o.x.o.x.

Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, sat quietly and expectantly in the beautiful gardens of Olympus. She was sitting on an intricately carved stone bench, surrounded by more flowers than any mortal could imagine. In the future, she had done little to change the beautiful, peaceful gardens, except to alter the view.

Fifteen minutes after her arrival in the gardens, the scent of rose perfume reached her nose, and guessing correctly, she stood to greet the Goddess of Love and Beauty.

Before her very eyes, Aphrodite changed her appearance to the exact definition of beauty in Annabeth's mind – green eyes, black hair, and a tall, willowy figure.

Looking down at herself in interest, Aphrodite glanced back at the girl. "Care to explain, my dear?" she questioned, with a glint in her eye.

Annabeth cleared her throat. "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean, my lady."

Aphrodite chuckled, a beautiful, tinkling laugh. "I can feel the waves of love cascading off of you, Annabeth Chase, while we read the books. But those waves are ever stronger whenever you reminisce about one Perseus Jackson."

_Oh, shoot,_ thought Annabeth. On the exterior, she put up a bright smile. "Of course I would, he's my boyfriend, isn't he?"

"That he is, my dear, but simply because he is your boyfriend does not mean you love him. Why, I've had millions of interested boys in my life, and I haven't loved even a quarter of them!" Aphrodite confessed, her now-green eyes wide with innocence.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Yes, of _course_ you've had millions of interested boys, Lady Aphrodite! You're the Goddess of Love and Beauty! But I never said I loved Percy. I honestly don't think that I do."

Aphrodite smiled warmly at the girl. "Can you be positive about that? What does your Perseus think of me in the future? And as you said, I'm the Goddess of Love. I think I can tell when someone is _in_ love."

"Percy? He thinks that you're nice enough, but a bit crazy," Annabeth admitted. "You're one of the only Olympians actually on his side. He angers the gods a lot." Her grey eyes grew interested. "Really? What do you think my mother felt for my father?"

"You're getting off topic," Aphrodite informed her. "But for future reference, she did truly love him. And I should think I would be! You two create the best couple since Paris and Helen! Since Odysseus and Penelope! Since Tom and Katie! Since Brad and Angelina! Since Orlando and Miranda!"

She would have listed plenty of other couples, but Annabeth cut her off with, "I get the point, Lady-"

The attempt was futile as Aphrodite continued, "Since Zac and Vanessa! Although, that didn't quite work out, did it?"

"No," Annabeth agreed, though she was slightly clueless. "Might we complete the discussion so I can go chat with my friends?"

"Oh, right! Well, all I meant to say was that you clearly love this Perseus Jackson boy, and don't let go of him." Aphrodite smiled wickedly. "Not that I'd let that happen, as the goddess of that forte. All I do is work some loving magic, and then hope that the Fates are on my side for the couple!" She frowned. "Though, I don't really think the three sisters were happy with me for Zanessa."

"Zanessa?" Annabeth repeated, dumbfounded.

"Or TomKat, for that matter. They're pretty happy with me about Brangelina! And maybe they'll be happy about Percabeth too!"

"_Percabeth_?" demanded Annabeth.

"Percy plus Annabeth, of course!" Aphrodite took out a mirror again and shrieked. "My hair is messed up! Bye, Annabeth! See you at lunch!" She winked and disappeared.

Annabeth shook her head, shocked by the goddess's abrupt departure. But she shook it off easily and went inside to hopefully find Thalia.

x.o.x.o.x.

Jason was currently in the Zeus guest bedroom, talking with Leo and Piper.

"I feel kind of out of place," Jason explained to his best friend and girlfriend. "The gods are all Greek, and my godly parent is Roman. I'm pretty sure Reyna and Frank and Hazel feel the same."

Leo shrugged. "Dude, they're all the same to me! But I'm glad Hephaestus is my dad, cuz the name Can or Vul would have been bad for Festus."

Piper rolled her eyes and smacked Leo upside the head. "You're so insensitive, repair boy." Her gaze returned to Jason. "They do flicker to their Roman forms occasionally. Maybe if you spoke to Lord Zeus about it, he could do something?"

Jason snorted. "My father has hardly done a thing for me in my life. And you think he'd honor my request?"

Shrugging, Piper replied, "It's worth a try, don't you think?"

"Trying to get Dad to grant a request?" a female voice asked from the doorway. "Not going to happen anytime soon."

"Hi, Thals," Jason greeted his sister as the Hunter entered the room. She smiled back and perched in a sky-blue armchair that had just appeared.

"Jason," she replied. "Have you seen Annabeth anywhere?"

Piper shrugged. "No, but I think my mom had a plan to ambush her."

Thalia arched an eyebrow.

"To ask her about her relationship with Percy," Piper clarified.

Thalia grinned. "Best of luck to Lady Aphrodite, then. She just might get something, but I've been trying for years, even before they got together."

"You're close to Percy?" Jason inquired of his sister.

"Don't start with your jealousy scum again, Jason," Thalia warned, "but yes, Percy's one of my closest friends in the world. I love him like a brother."

Jason winced, trying to heed Thalia's warning and keep his jealousy in check. "Cool," he attempted.

Thalia smiled at her brother a bit sadly. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to witness you grow up, Jason. But you've become a fine person. I'm sure Mom would be very proud." Her face darkened. "But Dad, on the other hand… it's hard to read him. I never wanted to be saved, turned into a pine tree, but he did it anyway. Was it pity or greed? We'll never know."

Jason nodded slowly. "I agree. Do you think… maybe, in the future, you could spend more time with me over Percy?"

His sister looked shocked, as shocked as if she had been slapped in the face. "Jason… I'll try, but if Percy ever shows up again in my life, Jason, I'll have to try to make up lost time." Her electric blue eyes studied his intently. "Don't let jealousy get in the way of those you love, Jason. It will never turn out well." She rose and exited the room after a wave at Piper and Leo.

The son of Jupiter pondered her words carefully and silently. His two companions exchanged a look, deciding mutually to stay silent as he contemplated the much-needed speech.

x.o.x.o.x.

"Thals!" Annabeth greeted the daughter of Zeus cheerfully as they bumped into one another.

Thalia smiled a strained smile. "Hi, Annabeth," she replied dully.

"Is something wrong?" Annabeth asked, her ears picking up a dejected tone beneath the monotone.

Her friend shrugged as they continued on their way aimlessly. "I just went in for a nice chat with Jason, and…" she trailed off, but Annabeth got the gist.

"His jealousy of Seaweed Brain acted up again?" she guessed shrewdly.

Thalia nodded, her blue eyes on the ceiling above them. "Coral Crud isn't always the brightest one in the bunch, but we all love him anyway. He gives the camp life, he brought us laughs in dark times. I guess I just couldn't imagine life without him at Camp Half-Blood. And Jason…" She closed her eyes, ceasing her walking. "And Jason wanted me to spend more time with him instead of with Water Wuss."

Annabeth would have made a crack about the nicknames _Coral Crud_ and _Water Wuss_, but she said nothing except, "Thalia, I know you love Seaweed Brain like a brother. But I also know that you feel awful for not being there to help Jason grow up." She paused, searching her brain. "Do what you feel is right in your heart." Again, she paused. "You don't need to choose between them, Thalia. You can split your time evenly."

"But I feel so confused and conflicted, Annie!" Thalia burst out, coming to a complete stop and sliding down the wall to a seat on the plush carpet. "There's this war going on with Gaea already, and it's barely started! Even with the bare start, we've nearly lost lives, and Nico was _lost_! We're so lucky to have this opportunity to come back in time so we can see him with him being MIA. Percy disappeared, and…"

"Thalia, you can't be caught up with what will happen in the future," Annabeth insisted. "You have to worry about the present. All we've got is each other, and being conflicted between two of the most powerful demigods alive will not turn out well. And I'm willing to bet that those two will be the leaders of the quest, the leaders of the seven spoken of in the Prophecy of Seven. Fight, Thalia, but love too. We must fight against the evil, ancient forces _together_. We can't let our differences stop us."

Thalia sighed, looking up into the serious grey eyes of one of her oldest friends. "They're both like my brothers. They're both so heroic and brave. But as much as I'm ashamed of it, I know Perce better. And I know that Percy would forgive me even if I chose to spend more time with Jason." She smiled softly. "Annabeth?"

"Yes, Thalia?"

"You're the luckiest girl in the world," Thalia told her. Seeing Annabeth's expression of shock, she smiled again. "You have the most amazing demigod wrapped around your pinky."

Annabeth laughed. "You're right," she agreed. "Percy _is_ the most amazing demigod. But we're all pretty amazing, Thalia. We survived Kronos' attacks and that war. We _will_ survive another one the way we survived the last."

She didn't need to explain how they had survived it. Thalia knew. They both knew it very well.

x.o.x.o.x.

After a delicious lunch, the readers of the _Percy Jackson_ series once again gathered in the throne room.

Piper picked the book up from her seat as she settled in. **A God Buys Us Cheeseburgers**, she began, and then chuckled. "I wonder which one?"

"Me, probably," Hermes said, "because I do all the dirty work around here."

"Or me!" piped up Apollo. "Because I'm the only friendly god around here!"

"Why don't you two shut up and we can find out?" Artemis suggested.

"Killjoy," muttered Apollo.

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing!"

**The next afternoon, June 14, seven days before the solstice, **

"So they have a week to get to Los Angeles and bargain with Hades?" Demeter clarified.

"I didn't steal the stupid bolt!" Hades snarled.

Zeus gasped dramatically, clutching his bolt. "Don't insult my bolt, Hades, unless you want to feel its wrath!"

Hades just laughed. "I could outduel you in a second, brother, and we all know it."

Poseidon nodded in agreement. "He could, Zeus. And I'd help him, so it would be in half a second."

"How dare you defy your king?" Zeus demanded.

Both gods rolled their eyes.

"No, just our younger brother," Hades snapped in return.

"Play nicely, children," Hera warned.

**our train rolled into Denver. We hadn't eaten since the night before in the dining car, somewhere in Kansas. **

Apollo gasped. "You missed meals?" he demanded.

Annabeth, suppressing a chuckle, nodded. "Two, if I remember correctly: breakfast and lunch."

"But those are the most awesome meals! Including dinner!"

Artemis rolled her eyes. "Apollo, those three are the _only_ meals."

"Exactly my point!" cried Apollo.

**We hadn't taken a shower since Half-Blood Hill, and I was sure that was obvious. **

Aphrodite crinkled her nose. "That's disgusting," she voiced.

Her patience wearing thin, Annabeth told the goddess, "It's kind of difficult taking showers when you're trying to save a wonderful mother for your friend and the most powerful weapon in the universe, not to mention preparing to bargain with the most feared god of them all."

Hades smirked. "That's right. I _am_ the most feared god of them all."

"Because you abduct children and drag them down there to rot!" shrieked Demeter hysterically.

"_Mo_ther!" Persephone snapped.

"**Let's try to contact Chiron," Annabeth said. "I want to tell him about your talk with the river spirit."**

"**We can't use phones, right?"**

"No, you stupid boy," Athena said to the book, rolling her eyes. "You are going to use Iris-messaging. Am I right, daughter?"

Annabeth, silently fuming at her mother for calling Percy stupid (_only I can do that!_), smiled in a sickly sweet manner and answered, "You'll see, Mother."

"**I'm not talking about phones."**

Athena grinned triumphantly. "See?"

Poseidon glared at her. "Don't call my son stupid, first of all, and second of all, nothing's confirmed yet."

"Do you disagree that it's Iris-message?" Athena demanded, arching an eyebrow skeptically.

"No," Poseidon admitted, "but that doesn't give you bragging rights."

**We wandered through downtown for about half an hour, though I wasn't sure what Annabeth was looking for. **

"A place to create a rainbow," Rachel declared, nodding. "I always found Iris-messaging a whole lot more fun that _instant_-messaging."

Nico nodded in agreement. "It is."

Octavian scowled. "It doesn't seem like much fun."

"Oh, shut up," Thalia snapped testily. "We're not in the mood for your crabbiness."

"Are we ever?" Hazel muttered.

**The air was dry and hot, which felt weird after the humidity of St. Louis. Everywhere we turned, the Rocky Mountains seemed to be staring at me, like a tidal wave about to crash into the city.**

"He would connect it to something having to do with water," said Katie, grinning.

"We could give him something to think about," joked Connor.

"As in a prank," agreed Travis immediately.

"Involving saltwater," Connor finished.

"In order to assault my son?" Poseidon asked. "There's no way I would let any saltwater enter your hands."

Hermes grinned boyishly. "Don't worry, sons. I can persuade him!"

"Keep dreaming," Poseidon replied.

"I'll ask Morpheus," Hermes shot back.

Poseidon laughed. "Smart return, Hermes, didn't think you could think something up like that."

"Love you too, Uncle P."

**Finally we found an empty do-it-yourself car wash. We veered toward the stall farthest from the street, keeping our eyes open for patrol cars. We were three adolescents hanging out at a car wash without a car; any cop worth his doughnuts would figure we were up to no good. **

Hestia raised an eyebrow. "His doughnuts?"

Annabeth stifled a laugh. "Cops have an infamous stereotype of loving doughnuts on their breaks, I suppose."

"**What exactly are we doing?" I asked, as Grover took out the spray gun. **

"Contacting someone who used to teach your Latin class," Will said dryly.

"**It's seventy-five cents," he grumbled. "I've only got two quarters left. **

"What does that equal?" Travis asked innocently.

Katie slapped him on the back of the head. "Stupid," she muttered.

**Annabeth?"**

"**Don't look at me," she said. "The dining car wiped me out."**

"Hey, at least they ate! What _did_ you eat?" Apollo asked in interest.

Annabeth looked at him oddly. "That was years ago, Lord Apollo. I don't remember."

"Gasp! How could you _not_?"

**I fished out my last bit of change and passed Grover a quarter, which left me two nickels and one drachma from Medusa's place. **

Hermes grinned proudly. "Good for them! They stole!"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "It's not exactly _stealing_ if the owner of the place has her head cut off, Lord Hermes."

"**Excellent," Grover said. "We could do it with a spray bottle, of course, but the connection isn't as good, and my arm gets tired of pumping."**

Frank snorted. "I wish our fauns were this funny."

Reyna laughed. "You know that Romans are more serious, Frank."

Frank shrugged. "Is that what alerted you that Percy wasn't exactly Roman?"

"I suppose," Reyna shrugged. "It could have also had to do with his fighting style. Our style is much more straightforward, such as stabbing, while the Greeks use slashing."

Octavian scoffed, turning up his nose. "Stabbing is a lot easier!"

Hazel raised an eyebrow at him. "We beat your cohort's silly butts at the war games when Percy joined us, using the _slashing style_."

"**What are you talking about?"**

**He fed in the quarters and set the knob to FINE MIST. "I-M'ing."**

"He'd automatically go for instant messaging," predicted Katie.

Annabeth laughed.

Scanning ahead, Piper also giggled.

"**Instant messaging?"**

Katie grinned. "Seems like I know Percy a lot more than he thinks!"

"He'd better watch out," Connor agreed.

"Because we can use the information for blackmail!" Travis completed.

"_**Iris**_**-messaging," Annabeth corrected. "The rainbow goddess Iris carries messages for the gods. **

Several of the gods and goddesses snorted.

"More like for Hera," Zeus said, "because she works the poor girl so hard, Iris has no time for the rest of us."

Poseidon nodded in agreement. "Iris is like Hera's slave."

Hera looked indignant. "She is not! I pay her a reasonable sum!"

"Most of her salary comes from the demigod calls, sister," Demeter informed her.

**If you know how to ask, and she's not too busy, she'll do the same for half-bloods."**

"I'm surprised she's never ignored a call," Artemis grumbled.

Annabeth grinned. "I'm sure Lady Iris is very generous. I am very grateful to her."

The other demigods nodded in agreement.

"**You summon the goddess with a spray gun?"**

"More specifically, the rainbow created by the spray gun," Athena corrected.

"Technicalities," Hermes spoke, waving it off.

Athena glared. "Technicalities are very important, I'll have you know! They could be the difference between living and dying!"

"Blah, blah, blah," chimed in Apollo.

Taking pity on the double-attack on the Wisdom Goddess, Piper read on.

**Grover pointed the nozzle in the air and water hissed out in a thick white mist. "Unless you know an easier way to make a rainbow."**

Athena smiled triumphantly, directing it particularly toward the Sun God and Messenger God. "Told you so," she said smugly.

"You sound like a fourth-grader," Hermes informed her.

Apollo nodded in agreement. "We've upgraded from saying that for centuries!"

"Oh, shut up," Athena mumbled.

**Sure enough, late afternoon light filtered through the vapor and broke into colors. **

Hestia smiled. "Rainbows are very pretty. Iris is lucky to have a beautiful forte."

"The sea is beautiful," Poseidon argued.

"That it is," Hestia agreed, "especially when the setting sun casts its orange light, the light dancing on the surface."

"Very eloquent, Aunt Hestia," Athena complimented approvingly. "Perhaps you could collaborate with me on an epic about beautiful places?"

"Oh, I'd rather tend to my fire, but thank you for the offer, Athena. I'm honored." Hestia smiled at her niece.

"Lady Hestia is too nice," Thalia murmured to Annabeth, but a smile was stretched across her face.

**Annabeth held her palm out to me. "Drachma, please."**

**I handed it over. **

**She raised the coin over her head. "O goddess, accept our offering."**

Artemis snorted. "No wonder why Iris always accepts your offerings. You're very dramatic about it."

Nico nodded knowingly. "And you deities do love dramatics."

The demigods were clearly trying to repress their laughter, as all the gods and goddesses present (except Hestia, who simply smiled tolerantly) adopted looks of offense on their faces.

**She threw the drachma into the rainbow. It disappeared in a golden shimmer. **

"**Half-Blood Hill," Annabeth requested. **

**For a moment, nothing happened. **

"And the suspense builds," joked Travis.

"Until the suspense is… suspended," added Connor.

**Then I was looking through the mist at strawberry fields, and the Long Island Sound in the distance. **

Annabeth smiled fondly at the memory. "It sure was a sight for sore eyes, seeing Camp Half-Blood after all our run-ins."

**We seemed to be on the porch of the Big House. Standing with his back to us at the railing was a sandy-haired guy in shorts and an orange tank top. **

Rachel shuddered. "Luke," she said, her voice dripping with contempt.

Blinded by the excitement of his son being mentioned, Hermes did not notice. "Luke!" he exclaimed. "I'm so happy to hear about him again!"

The older Greek demigods exchanged glances, but said nothing.

**He was holding a bronze sword **

"His preferred weapon," confirmed Annabeth, nodding almost fondly.

**and seemed to be staring intently at something down in the meadow. **

"**Luke!" I called. **

**He turned, eyes wide. I could swear he was standing three feet in front of me through a screen of mist, except I could only see the part of him that appeared in the rainbow. **

"**Percy!" His scarred face broke into a grin. "Is that Annabeth, too? Thank the gods! Are you guys okay?"**

Thalia shook her head sadly and said so softly that even Annabeth had to strain to hear, "He always was a good actor."

Annabeth smiled sadly. "Thalia… he was a hero. That's all that matters."

But Thalia had an ugly look on her face, replacing the sad one. She opened her mouth to shoot that down, but changed her mind, replying, "We'll talk later."

Her friend looked concerned and confused, but wisely said nothing more.

"**We're... uh... fine," Annabeth stammered. She was madly straightening her dirty T-shirt, trying to comb the loose hair out of her face. "We thought–Chiron–I mean–"**

"Aw, someone's got a crush!" teased Aphrodite. Her eyes twinkled at the blushing blonde. "What will Percy think?"

"Aphrodite!" Athena snapped forcefully. And then a smile curved her lips. "Though I would approve a lot more if you were paired with the Hermes boy instead of sea spawn."

Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Leave the girl alone, Aphrodite, she doesn't need your meddling," Hephaestus said to his wife.

Aphrodite pouted. "You take the fun out of everything."

Leo shivered. "She's like the stepmother from Tartarus," he hissed to Piper.

"More like _mother_ from Tartarus, dear stepbrother," Piper replied.

Leo's eyes widened. "_Stepbrother_?"

"**He's down at the cabins." Luke's smile faded. "We're having some issues with the campers. **

"He forgot to mention that _he_ was the reason behind the issues," Nico scowled.

**Listen, is everything cool with you? Is Grover all right?"**

"Just peachy, you traitor," murmured Katie quietly.

Annabeth looked upset. "Look, can't you let it go? He gave up in the end. He surrendered. He was a _hero_."

"Like I said, we'll talk later," Thalia said in a way of response.

"**I'm right here," Grover called. He held the nozzle out to one side and stepped into Luke's line of vision. "What kind of issues?"**

**Just then a big Lincoln Continental pulled into the car wash with its stereo turned to maximum hip-hop.**

"Perfect timing," commented Athena sarcastically.

**As the car slid into the next stall, the bass from the subwoofers vibrated so much, it shook the pavement. **

"**Chiron had to–what's that noise?" Luke yelled. **

"What does it _sound_ like?" Rachel asked irritably. "Music!"

Annabeth seemed to be growing more upset by the minute.

"**I'll take care of it!" Annabeth yelled back, looking very relieved to have an excuse to get out of sight. **

Nico scowled. "Did you really have a crush on him, Annabeth?"

"Oh, for gods' sakes! Can't you let it go?" Annabeth asked desperately. "I thought we agreed at the end that Luke was a hero, and that that's all we would think of him as!"

This whole conversation was going on quietly so that none of the gods could hear.

"Later!" Thalia hissed.

"**Grover, come on!"**

Poseidon grinned. "Very discreet, Annabeth."

Annabeth flushed, and said nothing, but her mother was quite the opposite. "Be quiet, Poseidon! Your son is probably as sharp as a blunt nail!"

"**What?" Grover said. "But-"**

Travis groaned and looked at his brother. "I think we should get Grover in for lying lessons, changing the subject subtly lessons, and _using his common sense_ lessons."

Connor grinned. "It will be a miracle if we could find any of that in his horned head."

"**Give Percy the nozzle and come on!" she ordered. **

**Grover muttered something about girls being harder to understand than the Oracle at Delphi, **

"Oi! My oracle is easy to understand!" Apollo protested.

The Camp Half-Blood campers who had witness the mummy oracle looked at him like he was crazy.

"No she's not. And when she's in mummy form, it's even harder to stay sane enough to listen, let alone understand," Will informed his father, "and I'm your _son_."

Apollo looked downtrodden, but his spirits were lifted as Rachel asked, "Since I'm a girl _and_ host of the spirit of the Oracle of Delphi, does that make me doubly hard to understand?"

The Sun God burst into laughter and slapped the armrest of his throne, much to the annoyance of his half-brother, Hermes. "I like this Oracle! Uncle H, don't you dare curse her!"

Hades flinched and didn't reprimand him for calling him the dreaded nickname. Hermes's face had turned a pale white, nearly rivaling his own skin tone, and Hades didn't want to make matters worse.

**then he handed me the spray gun and followed Annabeth. **

**I readjusted the hose so I could keep the rainbow going and still see Luke. **

"He's sharper than a blunt nail," Poseidon now said to Athena.

Athena snorted. "No child of yours will _ever_ be sharper than a blunt nail. Dream on, Kelp Head."

"**Chiron had to break up a fight," Luke shouted to me over the music. "Things are pretty tense here, Percy. Word leaked out about the Zeus-Poseidon standoff. **

Poseidon smirked at Zeus. "I'll probably win."

Zeus scowled. "My throne you won't!"

"Do you really want to bet that, brother?" Poseidon inquired, raising an eyebrow teasingly.

"Oh, be quiet!" Zeus paused. "Anyway, air disasters are-"

"_Not_ better than sea disasters, yes, brother, thrilled you've finally caught on," Poseidon cut him off, with a teasing glint in his eye.

**We're still not sure how – probably the same scumbag who summoned the hellhound. **

Thalia chuckled dryly, glancing at Annabeth. "Was that true?" she asked softly.

Annabeth looked uncomfortably pale. "Yes," she admitted quietly, "but Thalia… how can you be so… betraying? He saved us in the end. He rebelled against Kronos. He basically _killed_ the Titan Lord in the end. Can't you forgive him? Our lives are owed to him. Percy doesn't hold him in debt."

"Annabeth, can we talk later?" Thalia asked, glancing quickly at the inquiring gazes of the Olympian council and other demigods.

**Now the campers are starting to take sides. It's shaping up like the Trojan War all over again. Aphrodite, Ares, and Apollo are backing Poseidon, more or less. Athena is backing Zeus."**

Poseidon grinned at Aphrodite, Ares, and Apollo. "Thank you," he told them sincerely. "It means a lot."

Aphrodite beamed. "No problem, Poseidon! I think that your style is a lot better than Zeus's, and your mortal endeavors are a lot more fun to plan!"

Zeus scowled. He looked at his favorite daughter. "Athena… t-t-t-" He gave up, unable to stutter it out.

Athena chuckled. "You're welcome, Father."

"Of course I'd back you, Uncle P! You're a whole lot more fun!" Apollo cheered.

Ares just shrugged. "Your fights shape up a lot better," was his simple explanation.

"I think I'd back Poseidon as well," Hera remarked. She cast a glare at Zeus, her Juno form showing for a moment. "My husband is too much of a cheating bas-"

"Language, Mother," chastised Ares with a malicious grin. "There are punks in the room."

Hera scowled, looking a lot like Zeus as she did. "Oh, be quiet, Ares," she snapped.

**I shuddered to think that Clarisse's cabin would ever be on my dad's side for anything. **

"Like I said. Better fights."

Clarisse nodded in agreement with her father. "Sea disasters _are_ more spectacular than air ones," she taunted.

**In the next stall, I heard Annabeth and some guy arguing with each other, then the music's volume decreased drastically.**

Annabeth grinned. "I have pretty good persuasive powers." She paused, and nearly choked. "That came out wrong."

Connor smiled wickedly. "I'll bet Perce is pretty familiar with them."

"_SHUT UP!_"

"**So what's your status?" Luke asked me. "Chiron will be sorry he missed you."**

"Or sorry that Luke caught him," Nico murmured.

"Nico," Annabeth pleaded.

"Later," Thalia reminded them.

**I told him pretty much everything, including my dreams. It felt so good to see him, to feel like I was back at camp even for a few minutes, that I didn't realize how long I had talked until the beeper went off on the spray machine, and I realized I only had one more minute before the water shut off. **

Katie nodded. "Camp Half-Blood has that effect on you."

"Camp Jupiter is a better home," Octavian snidely countered.

"You've never been to Camp Half-Blood," Rachel snapped at him. "And just shut up, it was better when you didn't speak last chapter."

"Neither did you," Octavian pointed out.

"Children, play nicely," Apollo reminded them.

Rachel scowled, her face flushing to the color of her hair in fury.

"**I wish I could be there," Luke told me. "We can't help much from here, I'm afraid, but listen... it had to be Hades who took the master bolt. **

Hades groaned. "Not your boy too, Hermes. _I didn't take the master bolt!_ How many times must I repeat that?"

Hermes frowned. "Luke must have a good reason for saying that, Lord Hades," he replied in an uncharacteristically serious voice. He looked over at the demigod semicircle.

**He was there at Olympus at the winter solstice. I was chaperoning a field trip and we saw him."**

"See?" Hermes asked triumphantly. "You were there!"

Hades rolled his eyes. "Little Hermes, I'm _always_ at the winter solstice meeting. Only time I'm allowed on Olympus save now, remember?"

"**But Chiron said the gods can't take each other's magic items directly."**

Athena nodded, her grey eyes thoughtful. "That is very true. But Lord Hades claims he didn't take it. I believe his word, even if this takes place in the future. Yet… who _did_ take the bolt, then?"

"**That's true," Luke said, looking troubled. "Still... Hades has the helm of darkness. How could anybody else sneak into the throne room and steal the master bolt? You'd have to be invisible."**

Athena's eyes narrowed. "You better not be speaking of my daughter."

"He'd never do that, Mother," Annabeth assured her, her eyes daring her friends to make any comment.

**We were both silent, until Luke seemed to realize what he'd said. **

"**Oh, hey," he protested. "I didn't mean Annabeth. She and I have known each other forever. She would never... I mean, she's like a little sister to me."**

Connor snorted. "Would you be terribly upset with that description, Annie?"

"_DON'T CALL ME ANNIE!_"

**I wondered if Annabeth would like that description. In the stall next to us, the music stopped completely. A man screamed in terror, car doors slammed, and the Lincoln peeled out of the car wash. **

"What did you do?" Hera demanded. "You can't do things like that to mortals!"

"What makes you think we did something bad?" retorted Annabeth.

Hera rolled her eyes. "Why else would he 'scream in terror'?"

"**You'd better go see what that was," Luke said. "Listen, are you wearing the flying shoes? I'll feel better if I know they've done you some good."**

Reyna frowned. "By the sounds of him, Luke's a pretty smart person. Wouldn't he know that Percy can't fly without great danger?"

"He probably just wasn't thinking," Hazel spoke up, trying to reason.

Thalia shrugged. "Maybe," she told Hazel, "but the definite answer will come in future books, or even by the end of this one."

"**Oh... uh, yeah!" I tried not to sound like a guilty liar. "Yeah, they've come in handy."**

Frank grinned. "That's Perce, always making people feel good."

"Good?" Travis and Connor asked in unison, looking at each other.

"Yeah," Connor allowed.

"But only because he's a great sport at letting us prank him," finished Travis.

Katie rolled her eyes and told the Jupiter demigods and the Olympians, "Their pranks get tiresome, so that's quite a big accomplishment."

"You two need a huge dose of cereal!" Demeter declared.

"You won't be force-feeding my sons that gross stuff," Hermes countered.

"**Really?" He grinned. "They fit and everything?"**

"He could win an Emmy or an Oscar," Nico muttered to himself, careful to not let Annabeth hear.

**The water shut off. The mist started to evaporate. **

"It would have gone anyway, once Iris wanted another drachma," Piper pointed out, when her audience interrupted her reading with loud groans.

"Still," Leo whined.

Piper bit back a retort, much to Jason's delight.

"**Well, take care of yourself out there in Denver," Luke called, his voice getting fainter. "And tell Grover it'll be better this time! Nobody will get turned into a pine tree if he just-"**

Thalia blanched. "Did he _have_ to bring _that_ up? It's almost as if he _wanted_ it to be remembered."

"It _was_ pretty memorable," Katie joked, "because it's not every day a human is turned into a tree."

**But the mist was gone, and Luke's image faded to nothing. I was alone in a wet, empty car wash stall. **

**Annabeth and Grover came around the corner, laughing, but stopped when they saw my face. **

"Aw, is Percy jealous?" Connor teased.

**Annabeth's smile faded. "What happened, Percy? What did Luke say?"**

"**Not much," I lied, my stomach feeling as empty as a Big Three cabin. **

Athena snorted. "What a beautiful simile."

"He's not getting paid to write beautiful similes, is he?" Poseidon retorted bitterly.

"**Come on, let's find some dinner."**

Hestia looked worried. "How will they pay? They have no money, right?"

"Don't worry, Hestia," Hera reassured her, "I'm sure one of us will come to the rescue sooner or later. Poseidon for sure." She smiled a rare smile at her brother.

Poseidon returned the smile. "You know I'd do anything for my children, demigod or immortal," he told Hestia. "So please don't worry, even if I'm not supposed to interfere directly with their quests."

**A few minutes later, we were sitting at a booth in a gleaming chrome diner. All around us, families were eating burgers and drinking malts and sodas. **

Artemis frowned. "Ignorant mortals… They have no idea that their lives could be torn apart by a huge battle between two very powerful gods in just a week or so."

"They're affected by the Mist," Rachel defended automatically. "Isn't that the whole purpose? To keep non-clear sighted mortals peaceful and out of the picture?"

**Finally the waitress came over. She raised her eyebrow skeptically. "Well?"**

**I said, "We, um, want to order dinner."**

"No," Apollo said sarcastically, "you just walked into a diner for the heck of it."

"The malts sound good though," drooled Hermes.

"**You kids have money to pay for it?"**

"The children look dirty and about to faint, and she asks them if they _have money_?" demanded Hera.

**Grover's lower lip quivered. I was afraid he would start bleating, or worse, start eating the linoleum. **

"Nah, he'd have to rip it off the floor first," commented Travis thoughtfully. "And that's too much work. Food should be free of work!"

"Without work, you couldn't _get_ food," Annabeth informed him.

Travis waved her off, mumbling, "Children of Athena and their technicalities," earning himself a glare from the goddess herself.

**Annabeth looked ready to pass out from hunger. **

**I was trying to think up a sob story for the waitress when a rumble shook the whole building; a motorcycle the size of a baby elephant had pulled up to the curb. **

A malicious grin began to spread across Ares's face. "That's me," he announced, "so things are about to get better!" He kicked back and made a bowl of popcorn appear, his gaze intent on the book while popcorn was tossed into his mouth.

**All conversation in the diner stopped. **

"Of course it did," Ares stated arrogantly.

Clarisse also grinned with pride for her father.

"Sick," murmured Thalia. "That's just sick."

**The motorcycle's headlight glared red. Its gas tank had flames painted on it, and a shotgun holster riveted to either side, complete with shotguns. The seat was leather-but leather that looked like... well, Caucasian human skin. **

Hera flinched and looked at her son. "You can't be serious, Ares."

Ares grinned that malicious grin of his. "Oh, but I am, darling Mother."

"Disgusting," muttered Hera.

**The guy on the bike would've made pro wrestlers run for Mama. **

Aphrodite smiled. "Of course he would," she cooed.

Ares smirked.

Hephaestus shifted in his throne, telling himself that he was used to it and it shouldn't bother him.

**He was dressed in a red muscle shirt and black jeans and a black leather duster, with a hunting knife strapped to his thigh. **

"At least I've never had to do much about your style," Aphrodite told Ares, glancing critically at Hephaestus.

"Why should you care, _wife_?" Hephaestus asked, stressing the term. "You hardly see me anyway."

Aphrodite's kaleidoscope eyes widened in the uncharacteristic show of self-defense and snappishness from her husband, but she had enough sense to keep her mouth shut.

**He wore red wraparound shades, and he had the cruelest, most brutal face I'd ever seen – handsome, I guess, but wicked – with an oily black crew cut and cheeks that were scarred from many, many fights. The weird thing was, I felt like I'd seen his face somewhere before. **

"Sure you have, punk," grunted Ares. "On statues and stuff, with my beautiful face and many deadly weapons!" He gloated to himself.

**As he walked into the diner, a hot, dry wind blew through the place. All the people rose, as if they were hypnotized, but the biker waved his hand dismissively and they all sat down again. **

"Mist?" Piper guessed.

Annabeth nodded. "I'm pretty sure, yes. Because Grover and Percy and I weren't affected by it."

**Everybody went back to their conversations. The waitress blinked, as if somebody had just pressed the rewind button on her brain. She asked us again, "You kids have money to pay for it?"**

"_That's_ what she asks after the God of War entered the diner she works at?" Artemis inquired disbelievingly.

"Cereal," diagnosed Demeter firmly.

"Shut up, woman."

**The biker said, "It's on me." He slid into our booth, which was way too small for him, and crowded Annabeth against the window. **

Annabeth flinched, looking at the god. "That wasn't very pleasant," she murmured, so that only Thalia and Nico could hear.

Thalia patted her shoulder consolingly.

**He looked up at the waitress, who was gaping at him, and said, **"**Are you still here?"**

"Manners, Ares," snapped Hera.

"Sorry Mother," Ares snapped in return sarcastically.

"Don't take that tone with me! I'm your mother!"

"Unfortunately," Ares muttered.

**He pointed at her, and she stiffened. She turned as if she'd been spun around, then marched back toward the kitchen. **

"Kind of you," remarked Artemis dryly.

"Thanks," Ares grunted, oblivious to the sarcasm.

**The biker looked at me. I couldn't see his eyes behind the red shades, but bad feelings started boiling in my stomach. Anger, resentment, bitterness. **

Ares grinned arrogantly.

Aphrodite shook her head. "That's Ares for you," she commented.

**I wanted to hit a wall. I wanted to pick a fight with somebody. Who did this guy think he was?**

"The God of War, patron of Rome," Octavian snapped. "Show one of the greatest gods his deserved respect."

Ares smirked. "I like you, kid."

Octavian flushed with pride.

"Arrogant bully," Rachel muttered. The Greeks' eyes were all on the king of the gods, waiting for his explosion to occur.

Sure enough, Zeus's eyes turned stormy as the weather literally became just that above New York and all around America. "Watch your mouth," he snarled.

Octavian lost the smug look. "Lord Jupiter, I meant no disrespect! _You_ are, of course, the greatest of them all!" he tried.

"Don't give me that," Jupiter snapped, after switching to his Roman form and bearing threateningly down at the augury.

Juno (who had also switched) stood and laid a hand on her husband's forearm. "Jupiter," she soothed, "it's just a silly little boy. Sit down and listen to the daughter of Aphrodite read."

**He gave me a wicked grin. "So you're old Seaweed's kid, huh?"**

Poseidon didn't even look offended. "It's better than what Wise Yet Crazy Woman calls me. It's the same thing for a thousand years."

"Stop feeding his already enormous ego!" Demeter snapped across her sisters and brother to Poseidon.

**I should've been surprised, or scared, but instead I felt like I was looking at my stepdad, Gabe. **

Hades stifled a laugh. "You really shouldn't take that as a compliment, Ares."

Ares shrugged nonchalantly. "Who cares? I'd probably be able to bring the brat down with one hit."

Annabeth chuckled silently to herself. _Oh, if only you knew, Lord Ares…_

**I wanted to rip this guy's head off. "What's it to you?"**

**Annabeth's eyes flashed me a warning. "Percy, this is-"**

"Ares, God of War," clarified Reyna. "And, as much as I hate to admit it, Octavian is right. Percy should really show some more respect. Though, I suppose, this _is_ Ares, not Lord Mars, patron of Rome."

"Same difference," Octavian waved it off.

"That's an oxymoron," Annabeth informed him sharply.

"Oxy-what?"

"Moron. Just like you."

**The biker raised his hand. **

"**S'okay," he said. "I don't mind a little attitude. Long as you remember who's the boss. You know who I am, little cousin?"**

Thalia shivered. "At least they're only cousins. He's my _half-brother_."

"Thals, do you _know_ how many half-siblings you have, dead, alive, and immortal?" Nico asked her curiously.

"Must be a million," Thalia replied, stifling a laugh at the sight of her stepmother's scowling face. "It's sort of creepy, to be honest."

**Then it struck me why this guy looked familiar. He had the same vicious sneer as some of the kids at Camp Half-Blood, the ones from cabin five. **

"And he figures it out!" Leo announced with a grin.

"Yeah, I was surprised too," Annabeth joked at Percy's expense, feeling more lighthearted about his disappearance since before it.

"**You're Clarisse's dad," I said. **

Stealing a glance at Clarisse, Will whispered, "I don't think Lord Ares would be too happy about that title."

Clarisse, of course, heard. "Be quiet!" she snarled. "I can always ask my father for a new Maimer, you know!"

"Lamer," Connor coughed.

"**Ares, god of war."**

"That's a better title," teased Will.

"I _said_, shut up the Hades up!"

**Ares grinned and took off his shades. Where his eyes should've been, there was only fire, empty sockets glowing with miniature nuclear explosions. **

Hera shuddered. "I still have no idea where you got those eyes from." She glanced at Zeus and shuddered again. "Definitely not from us."

"She speaks as though kid gods can inherit traits from their parents. Gods don't have DNA, right?" Travis asked.

"Kid gods?" Katie replied, snorting.

"You know you love me," Travis joked, winking.

Katie flushed bright red but made no response. Seeing this exchange, Aphrodite sat up excitedly, looking between the son of Hermes and daughter of Demeter. Yet another budding romance? These demigods were fun!

"**That's right, punk. I heard you broke Clarisse's spear."**

"**She was asking for it."**

Hazel flinched. "Did he just say that to the god of war? And in his Greek, irrational form?"

"Watch it, kid," Ares snapped at her gruffly.

"Don't be stupid, Ares, you know it's true. Your Roman form has a whole lot more sense," Zeus informed him sharply before gesturing for Piper to continue.

"**Probably. That's cool. I don't fight my kids' fights, you know? What I'm here for – I heard you were in town. I got a little proposition for you."**

Jason raised an eyebrow. "A proposition?"

Piper giggled. "At least he didn't say proposal… that would make things awkward."

"Just with your state of mind," Jason teased with a smile.

Looking back down at the book, Piper continued to read with a faint smile still on her lips.

Being the observant mother that she was, Aphrodite noticed the exchange, and the hardening of the Roman praetor's expression, though Reyna was quite good at making poker faces.

Deciding not to meddle _for now_, Aphrodite settled back to listen to her daughter read.

**The waitress came back with heaping trays of food – cheeseburgers, fries, onion rings, and chocolate shakes. **

Apollo swallowed thickly. "Can we eat soon?"

"We just ate lunch!" Artemis reminded him.

"So?" Apollo whined. "There is never a bad time to eat!"

Grumbling, Artemis made a bowl of ambrosia and a goblet of nectar appear in front of her twin. "Now can you shut your trap so we can read?"

"They act like mortal twins," Frank observed.

Will shivered. "My dad and aunt are pretty whacky."

"Don't let Lady Artemis hear that," Thalia warned him, "because if she does, she and the rest of the Hunters will be on your back. And trust me that would _not_ be a pleasant experience."

**Ares handed her a few gold drachmas.**

Athena groaned. "When are you going to learn something, Ares? You can't pay for mortal transactions with immortal currency!"

Dionysus rolled his eyes. "Where's the fun in learning, Owl Eyes? It's so much better to just drill useless stuff into brats' heads."

"This is why Chiron should get a pay raise, and you should have to serve more punishment," Athena muttered.

"And anyway," Ares spoke up, "you just threaten 'em with a knife. Easy as battle!"

"That's easy? Are you mad? There are strategies to be made, there are _mistakes_ to be prevented, there are-"

"Yeah, yeah, useless stuff," Dionysus interrupted her as he took a huge gulp of Diet Coke. "Quiet so we can get this book done with faster."

"There are four more to go," Athena snapped at him.

"And two more after that, because of us," Hazel commented, gesturing to herself, Frank, Jason, Piper, and Leo.

**She looked nervously at the coins. "But, these aren't..."**

"Told you she'd notice," Athena said smugly.

"You said nothing of the sort," snapped Ares. "Now shut up, even though I love a good fight. I want to see what awesome things my future me is up to."

Athena scowled fiercely.

**Ares pulled out his huge knife and started cleaning his fingernails. "Problem, sweetheart?"**

**The waitress swallowed, then left with the gold. **

"See?" It was Ares's turn to be smug. "I told you that it works."

Even Athena had no response for that.

"**You can't do that," I told Ares. "You can't just threaten people with a knife."**

**Ares laughed. "Are you kidding? I love this country. Best place since Sparta. **

Octavian shook his head. "Sparta? That measly place? Rome was so much better! It's like a gigantic Sparta!"

Ares paused, considering. "Nah, I still like Sparta better."

**Don't you carry a weapon, punk? You should. Dangerous world out there. Which brings me to my proposition. I need you to do me a favor."**

Poseidon leaned forward, looking skeptical. "A favor?"

"Obviously," Athena snapped, her patience tried by Ares already.

"**What favor could I do for a god?"**

"**Something a god doesn't have time to do himself. **

Hera shook her head in disapproval. "That's no way to speak, Ares," she scolded. "You know that we deities need mortals and demigods more than we'd care to admit. It won't do any wonders for you to go shooting off your mouth like that."

Ares rolled his eyes. "I'm a grown god, _Mother_. Let me think for myself."

"That would turn out well," Hera snapped at him. "You have nearly nothing between your ears, and I'll be surprised if you ever actually used that mess."

"And they need demigods? The way _Lady_ Hera has been treating me lately, I would never in a million years guess that," Annabeth murmured bitterly.

**It's nothing much. I left my shield at an abandoned water park here in town. I was going on a little... date with my girlfriend. **

Hephaestus scowled. "Yeah, it was a date all right." He looked slightly bitter, but being used to it, he said nothing more.

Aphrodite had the decency to look ashamed, but she couldn't gather the courage to apologize, because Ares was grinning at her in that way of his that could win her over in a second. She took a deep breath and switched her gaze from her husband to her boyfriend.

**We were interrupted. I left my shield behind. I want you to fetch it for me."**

"**Why don't you go back and get it yourself?"**

Will groaned. "That would just set Lord Ares off. Percy's _really_ got a talent for ticking off the Olympians."

Annabeth nodded in agreement, looking as if she were trying to stifle a smile.

**The fire in his eye sockets glowed a little hotter. **

"**Why don't I turn you into a prairie dog and run you over with my Harley?**

"Because I'd condemn him to a life as a jellyfish or something for eternity in my realm," Poseidon said, leaving no room for protest. "Or maybe a small fish, and then let him float up to a hungry fisherman's boat for that night's dinner."

Ares didn't show any sign of fear except for the eye twitch.

**Because I don't feel like it. A god is giving you an opportunity to prove yourself, Percy Jackson. Will you prove yourself a coward?" **

"Oh, yeah, because trying to get a shield from an abandoned water park is _so_ brave, and if he decided not to, it'd be cowardly," Leo commented.

_Rich, coming from the coward himself,_ Frank thought, but didn't dare voice it aloud in fear of being set on fire.

**He leaned forward. "Or maybe you only fight when there's a river to dive into, so your daddy can protect you."**

Annabeth chuckled, but there was a dry tone to it. "Percy's done a lot in his young life so far, and only a few involved water. Of course, he uses his powers to aid him, but he doesn't jump into a river or ocean or something just to save himself. To save someone or some _people_ he cared about, of course he would."

**I wanted to punch this guy, but somehow, I knew he was waiting for that. Ares's power was causing my anger. He'd love it if I attacked. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction. **

"Strong kid," Ares gruffly admitted. "Not many grown people could resist the urge I expel."

"A lot of willpower," agreed Hestia with a smile.

"**We're not interested," I said. "We've already got a quest."**

**Ares's fiery eyes made me see things I didn't want to see – blood and smoke and corpses on the battlefield. **

"Isn't that a lovely scene?" asked Katie sarcastically.

"Paints a beautiful picture in my mind," Thalia agreed.

**"I know all about your quest, punk. **

"I love that term," sighed Clarisse. "Punk. Has so much… _power_ in it."

Her… er, fellow campers looked at her like she was crazy.

**When that item was first stolen, Zeus sent his best out looking for it: Apollo, Athena, Artemis, and me, naturally. **

"Yeah! Go me!" cheered Apollo, his smile nearly blinding the demigods in the throne room, the white teeth sparkling like the sun.

Athena looked like she was trying to conceal her pride at being called one of Zeus's best.

Artemis was just rolling her eyes at her brother's antics.

And Ares, of course, was grinning arrogantly. "Naturally."

"Hey, I just realized," Nico hissed. "What's with the gods and the letter A? They love that letter! Artemis, Athena, Apollo, Ares, Arachne, Arion, etc., etc."

**If I couldn't sniff out a weapon that powerful…" He licked his lips, as if the very thought of the master bolt made him hungry. **

Zeus glared at his son. "You better not be thinking about stealing my precious bolt, Ares, or you will get a taste of just how powerful it is."

"**Well... If I couldn't find it, you got no hope. Nevertheless, I'm trying to give you the benefit of the doubt. Your dad and I go way back. **

Poseidon snorted. "Way back indeed."

"Come on, Uncle P, you love me!"

"Mhm. No."

**After all, I'm the one who told him my suspicions about old Corpse Breath."**

Hades growled. "You told him that _I_ stole the bolt? You useless, senseless, lying piece of rubbish!"

"He has such good compliments," Hazel snorted.

"**You told him Hades stole the bolt?"**

"**Sure. Framing somebody to start a war. Oldest trick in the book. I recognized it immediately. In a way, you got me to thank for your little quest."**

"Yeah," Annabeth replied sarcastically, "because we _wanted_ a chance to die every second of every day."

"You did," Thalia pointed out. "You wanted a chance to prove yourself, no matter how dangerous."

Annabeth shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

"**Thanks," I grumbled. **

"**Hey, I'm a generous guy. Just do my little job, and I'll help you on your way. I'll arrange a ride west for you and your friends."**

"Is that a…" Athena stopped herself, her eyes getting wide. "_No!_ It can't be!" She glanced at her daughter. "Is it?" _Did Ares take the bolt?_

Athena's words reverberated in her daughter's head. Annabeth shrugged, and said aloud, "I can't say, Mother. Just keep listening."

"**We're doing fine on our own."**

"**Yeah, right. No money. No wheels. No clue what you're up against. Help me out, and maybe I'll tell you something you need to know. Something about your mom."**

Poseidon winced. "That will capture his interest. You're such a blackmailer, Ares," he grumbled.

Ares smirked.

"**My mom?"**

**He grinned. "That got your attention. **

"Just as I said it would," groaned Poseidon.

**The water park is a mile west on Delancy. You can't miss it. Look for the Tunnel of Love ride."**

Aphrodite squealed. "The Tunnel of Love? I _love_ those kinds of tunnels! Weren't they such a brilliant idea of mine?"

"Yeah, simply brilliant," Artemis mumbled.

"Worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize," added Athena dryly.

"**What interrupted your date?" I asked. "Something scare you off?"**

Frank grimaced. "Percy better watch his mouth, or else he could get into big, _big_ trouble."

"A lot of it," Piper agreed with the son of Mars before continuing.

**Ares bared his teeth, but I'd seen his threatening look before on Clarisse. There was something false about it, almost like he was nervous.**

Clarisse growled. "I am _never_ nervous! What's the punk talking about?"

"The truth," Connor muttered to his brother, who suppressed a laugh.

"**You're lucky you met me, punk, and not one of the other Olympians. They're not as forgiving of rudeness as I am. I'll meet you back here when you're done. Don't disappoint me." **

"Mhm, because fetching a shield is _so_ dangerous," Leo remarked.

"When it's Ares's shield and Ares's request, it is," Annabeth informed him, remembering that particular time. "Well, it wasn't _dangerous_, per se."

**After that I must have fainted, or fallen into a trance, because when I opened my eyes again, Ares was gone. I might've thought the conversation had been a dream, but Annabeth and Grover's expressions told me otherwise. **

Annabeth laughed. "Later, Seaweed Brain told me that he wished he had a camera on him to take a picture of our faces."

"We took one of you when we discovered Perce was missing," Travis informed her.

Her stormy grey eyes grew stormier. "No you didn't!"

"**Not good," Grover said. "Ares sought you out, Percy. This is not good."**

**I stared out the window. The motorcycle had disappeared. **

**Did Ares really know something about my mom, or was he just playing with me? **

"Who knows?" Will said. "But it probably would be better to just follow his instructions than to let it go."

**Now that he was gone, all the anger had drained out of me. I realized Ares must love to mess with people's emotions. That was his power – cranking up the passions so badly, they clouded your ability to think. **

Ares nodded with pride. "Yeah, the most awesome power there is!" He was tossing caramel corn into his mouth, still into the story even though he was gone.

"**It's probably some kind of trick," I said. "Forget Ares. Let's just go."**

Reyna paled. "Does he have a death wish?" she asked, almost hysterically. "Ignore a summons from Ma- Ares himself?"

Annabeth regarded her with more iciness than she had shown the daughter of Bellona. Did she have a _thing_ for Percy? Did Percy return those feelings?

"**We can't," Annabeth said. "Look, I hate Ares as much as anybody, **

"Except Hera," Annabeth murmured.

"Are you crazy?" Rachel asked. "Saying that right after he left?"

Annabeth shrugged. "He needed us to do his bidding, so he wouldn't exactly set us on fire yet."

**but you don't ignore the gods unless you want serious bad fortune. He wasn't kidding about turning you into a rodent." **

The daughter of Athena chuckled. Maybe Ares hadn't, but a certain sorceress had done that soon enough.

**I looked down at my cheeseburger, which suddenly didn't seem so appetizing. **

Hestia shook her head in disapproval. "He should really eat. Who knows when the next time he'll have a proper meal is?"

"**Why does he need us?"**

"**Maybe it's a problem that requires brains," Annabeth said. "Ares has strength. That's all he has. Even strength has to bow to wisdom sometimes."**

Athena nodded both proudly and approvingly. "That's very true, daughter. And not just sometimes. A lot of times."

Annabeth grinned. "Just as the Ravenclaw motto is: Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure."

Nico looked at her blankly. "Ravenclaw?"

"You don't know?" Annabeth gasped. When the son of Hades shook his head, Annabeth shook her own in disbelief. "That's crazy! Okay, that settles it. We're having a Harry Potter marathon after all these are over!"

"**But this water park... he acted almost scared. What would make a war god run away like that?"**

Glancing at Hephaestus, Athena came to the realization quickly. Technology, Hephaestus, Aphrodite… it all made sense!

**Annabeth and Grover glanced nervously at each other. **

"It won't be bad," Athena reassured the satyr and her daughter in the book. "I promise you."

Annabeth looked at her in surprise. "Did you figure it out, Mother?"

"Partially," Athena admitted. "And it's just a theory."

**Annabeth said, "I'm afraid we'll have to find out."**

**The sun was sinking behind the mountains by the time we found the water park. Judging from the sign, it once had been called WATERLAND, but now some of the letters were smashed out, so it read WAT R A D. **

Demeter arched an eyebrow. "Some wheat would do the place good. Wheat makes good decoration, you know."

"Oh, Demeter. Please be quiet about your wheat," Hera pleaded. "But you're right. The place does seem dingy. Why would you bring Aphrodite there, son?"

Ares scowled, obviously not a fan of the term of endearment.

**The main gate was padlocked and topped with barbed wire. Inside, huge dry waterslides and tubes and pipes curled everywhere, leading to empty pools. Old tickets and advertisements fluttered around the asphalt. With night coming on, the place looked sad and creepy. **

"Sad and creepy? Right up my alley!" Nico cheered.

Hades nodded at him, saying gruffly, "That's my son."

"**If Ares brings his girlfriend here for a date," I said, staring up at the barbed wire, "I'd hate to see what she looks like."**

Aphrodite gasped. "What! That's very offensive! And just to pay him back for that, I'll mess around with his love life even more!"

"And I don't choose ugly women!" Ares protested.

Glancing at Clarisse, Connor whispered to his brother, "The image of Clarisse kind of doesn't back up that statement."

"You're not going to mess around with my son's love life!" Poseidon snapped at Aphrodite.

"I agree with Lord Poseidon!" Annabeth said loudly. "I won't let you!"

"Aw, young love," Aphrodite cooed.

"Shut up, Aphrodite!" Athena screeched at her, sounding like an owl.

"**Percy," Annabeth warned. "Be more respectful."**

"If he was here, he'd probably say something like, 'Yes, Mom'," Thalia commented, laughing.

"**Why? I thought you hated Ares."**

"**He's still a god. And his girlfriend is very temperamental."**

Aphrodite glared at Athena's daughter. "I am _not!_"

No one would make eye contact with her.

"Well, I'm _not_!"

"**You don't want to insult her looks," Grover added. **

"**Who is she? Echidna?"**

Ares snorted. "Mother of monsters? The punk wishes!"

"And she's terribly ugly!" Aphrodite chimed in. "I'd never stick Ares with _her_!"

"**No, Aphrodite," Grover said, a little dreamily. "Goddess of love."**

Aphrodite smiled sickly sweetly. "Aw, the sweet satyr!"

"**I thought she was married to somebody," I said. "Hephaestus."**

Hephaestus laughed, but it was humorless. "Since when has that ever mattered?"

"Never," Hera agreed with her son, looking at her husband scathingly.

"**What's your point?" he asked. **

"**Oh." I suddenly felt the need to change the subject. "So how do we get in?"**

"By flying, of course!" Hermes piped up. "Why else would the satyr have my awesome shoes?"

"What about the others?" Apollo reminded him.

"Climbing, of course," Hermes replied, shrugging it off. "But flying is so much more fun!"

"_**Maia!**_**" Grover's shoes sprouted wings. **

**He flew over the fence, did an unintended somersault in midair, **

Hermes laughed. "He needs some more practice!"

"No time," Apollo reminded him.

**then stumbled to a landing on the opposite side. He dusted off his jeans, as if he'd planned the whole thing. "You guys coming?"**

**Annabeth and I had to climb the old-fashioned way, **

"Old-fashioned indeed," Artemis remarked dryly.

"Wow, you can use sarcasm?" Apollo gasped at his sister.

Artemis rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Listen to this: Apollo's awesome. Pure sarcasm."

**holding down the barbed wire for each other as we crawled over the top. **

**The shadows grew long as we walked through the park, checking out the attractions. There was Ankle Biter Island, Head Over Wedgie, and Dude, Where's My Swimsuit?**

Aphrodite's nose was wrinkled. "Bad attractions. In this future, could we maybe not go there, darling?" she asked Ares.

"Whatever you want, honey," Ares replied.

**No monsters came to get us. Nothing made the slightest noise. **

**We found a souvenir shop that had been left open. Merchandise still lined the shelves: snow globes, pencils, postcards, and racks of-**

"**Clothes," Annabeth said. "Fresh clothes."**

"Oh," Athena realized. "You're going to be ads for the terrible water park?"

"Yep," Annabeth clarified.

"**Yeah," I said. "But you can't just-"**

"**Watch me."**

"I was desperate," Annabeth explained. "Normally, I wouldn't, but you know…"

"Wouldn't steal?" gasped Travis.

"Whoever heard of such a thing?" Connor added.

**She snatched an entire row of stuff of the racks and disappeared into the changing room. A few minutes later she came out in Waterland flower-print shorts, a big red Waterland T-shirt, and commemorative Waterland surf shoes. A Waterland backpack was slung over her shoulder, obviously stuffed with more goodies. **

Aphrodite's nose was wrinkled again. "Ew."

"We were on a time-sensitive quest," Annabeth snapped, her patience wearing thin. "I wasn't about to get picky."

"**What the heck." Grover shrugged. Soon, all three of us were decked out like walking advertisements for the defunct theme park. **

**We continued searching for the Tunnel of Love. I got the feeling that the whole park was holding its breath. "So Ares and Aphrodite," I said, to keep my mind off the growing dark, "they have a thing going?"**

"A thing?" asked Aphrodite, offended.

"**That's old gossip, Percy," Annabeth told me. "Three-thousand-year-old gossip."**

"Older than him," Connor joked.

"**What about Aphrodite's husband?"**

"Yeah, what about him?" Hera asked bitterly.

"**Well, you know," she said. "Hephaestus. The blacksmith. He was crippled when he was a baby, thrown off Mount Olympus by Zeus. **

"I thought you were a daughter of wisdom!" Zeus snapped at Annabeth.

Annabeth flinched, knowing what was about to come. "Yes, Lord Zeus, I am."

"Well, anyone with half a wit would be aware that it was _Hera_ who pitched Hephaestus off Olympus, not me!"

**So he isn't exactly handsome. Clever with his hands, and all, but Aphrodite isn't into brains and talent, you know?"**

"As my daughter spoke of, even strength must bow to wisdom at some point," Athena told Aphrodite, who pshed and ignored her.

"**She likes bikers."**

"Apparently so," Hera snapped. "Why did you ever learn to bike, Ares?"

"**Whatever."**

"**Hephaestus knows?"**

"**Oh sure," Annabeth said. "He caught them together once. I mean, literally caught them, in a golden net, and invited all the gods to come and laugh at them. **

Hephaestus grinned. "I loved that time. It was awesome, let me tell you."

Ares scoffed. "Jealous."

"It _was_ pretty funny," agreed Hades.

"And it takes a lot for him to admit that," Persephone told the congregated.

**Hephaestus is always trying to embarrass them. That's why they meet in out-of-the-way places, like..."**

**She stopped, looking straight ahead. "Like that."**

"And she realizes!" Leo exclaimed dramatically.

**In front of us was an empty pool that would've been awesome for skateboarding. It was at least fifty yards across and shaped like a bowl. **

"He _would_ think of something like that at a time like this," laughed Hazel.

**Around the rim, a dozen bronze statues of Cupid stood guard with wings spread and bows ready to fire. On the opposite side from us, a tunnel opened up, probably where the water flowed into when the pool was full. **

"That sounds like a pleasant image," Dionysus commented sarcastically. "The place could use some grapevines. And waiters serving drinks."

"Sounds like Dakota," Reyna whispered to Hazel, smiling.

"Bacchus, Dionysus's Roman form, is Dakota's dad, remember?" Hazel replied, but she was smiling too.

**The sign above it read, THRILL RIDE O' LOVE: THIS IS NOT YOUR PARENTS' TUNNEL OF LOVE!**

"I should think not!" Athena exclaimed.

"I think they had mortal parents in mind when they built that," Poseidon told her, rolling his eyes.

**Grover crept toward the edge. "Guys, look."**

**Marooned at the bottom of the pool was a pink-and-white two-seater boat with a canopy over the top and little hearts painted all over it. In the left seat, glinting in the fading light, was Ares's shield, a polished circle of bronze. **

"Is this… a trick?" Athena asked aloud.

"Why do you think that?" Will replied, though he wasn't sure himself.

Athena shrugged. "It wouldn't be that easy."

"**This is too easy," I said. "So we just walk down there and get it?"**

**Annabeth ran her fingers along the base of the nearest Cupid statue. **

"**There's a Greek letter carved here," she said. "Eta. I wonder..."**

Hephaestus sat up straighter. "Eta?" he echoed.

"**Grover," I said, "you smell any monsters?"**

**He sniffed the wind. "Nothing."**

"**Nothing-like, in-the-Arch-and-you-didn't-smell-Echidna nothing, or really nothing?"**

Hestia winced. "The satyr won't be too happy about that being brought up."

**Grover looked hurt. "I told you, that was underground."**

Hermes nodded. "Underground affects the satyr's nose."

"**Okay, I'm sorry." I took a deep breath. "I'm going down there."**

"Always the first to volunteer," joked Katie, grinning.

"**I'll go with you." Grover didn't sound too enthusiastic, but I got the feeling he was trying to make up for what had happened in St. Louis. **

"He shouldn't have to feel that way," Demeter spoke up. And for the first time, she didn't connect cereal, wheat, or her daughter. "Real friends don't hold each other to anything."

Annabeth shook her head slowly. "That's true, Lady Demeter, but Grover had nearly no friends. He failed one, in his mind, and the other two barely paid attention to him at Camp Half-Blood." She looked down ashamedly. "At least, not as much as they should have been. So when he met Percy, he was kind of overwhelmed, and that's why he felt like he owed something."

"**No," I told him. "I want you to stay up top with the flying shoes. You're the Red Baron, a flying ace, remember? I'll be counting on you for backup, in case something goes wrong."**

Hestia now smiled. "That's a very good way to reassure Grover. Flattery can get you to unknown places."

**Grover puffed up his chest a little. "Sure. But what could go wrong?"**

"**I don't know. Just a feeling. Annabeth, come with me-"**

Piper stopped reading, wincing. "He's being dense. He wants _Annabeth_ to go with _him_ into the Tunnel of Love ride?"

Annabeth laughed. "That was basically my reaction too, Piper."

"**Are you kidding?" She looked at me as if I'd just dropped from the moon. **

"See?"

**Her cheeks were bright red.**

"**What's the problem now?" I demanded. **

"**Me, go with you to the... the 'Thrill Ride of Love'? How embarrassing is that? What if somebody saw me?"**

Poseidon rolled his eyes. "Who's going to see you?"

Annabeth chuckled.

"**Who's going to see you?" **

Poseidon grinned.

"Like father, like son," Annabeth commented.

**But my face was burning now, too. Leave it to a girl to make everything complicated. **

Artemis looked offended. "Excuse me? Men make everything _so_ much more complicated!"

"**Fine," I told her. "I'll do it myself." But when I started down the side of the pool, she followed me, muttering about how boys always messed things up. **

"That's more like it," Artemis approved with a smile.

**We reached the boat. The shield was propped on one seat, and next to it was a lady's silk scarf. **

Aphrodite grinned. "Mine!" she claimed. Then she paused, as if going through all the scarves in her closet. "I wonder which one?"

**I tried to imagine Ares and Aphrodite here, a couple of gods meeting in a junked-out amusement-park ride. Why? **

"Yeah!" Aphrodite cried. "I _hate_ junked-out amusement parks!" She glared at Ares. "Shouldn't you have enough sense to not bring me to one of those?"

**Then I noticed something I hadn't seen from up top: mirrors all the way around the rim of the pool, facing this spot. **

"Ooh, mirrors!" Aphrodite squealed.

**We could see ourselves no matter which direction we looked. That must be it. While Ares and Aphrodite were smooching with each other they could look at their favorite people: themselves.**

Aphrodite and Ares both grinned. "Never mind! Bring me there _any time_ you want!" Aphrodite happily told Ares.

"Anytime, princess," Ares agreed.

**I picked up the scarf. It shimmered pink, and the perfume was indescribable –rose, or mountain laurel. Something good. I smiled, a little dreamy, and was about to rub the scarf against my cheek when Annabeth ripped it out of my hand and stuffed it in her pocket. "Oh, no you don't. Stay away from that love magic."**

Travis and Connor grinned teasingly at Annabeth. "Jealous, Annie?" they asked in unison.

"I was _not_ jealous! Shut up!" Annabeth protested defensively.

"Sure…" the brothers said skeptically, again in unison.

"**What?"**

"**Just get the shield, Seaweed Brain, and let's get out of here."**

"Definitely jealous," Travis teased.

"I was _not_!"

**The moment I touched the shield, I knew we were in trouble. My hand broke through something that had been connecting it to the dashboard. A cobweb, I thought, but then I looked at a strand of it on my palm and saw it was some kind of metal filament, so fine it was almost invisible. A trip wire.**

Hephaestus grinned, and reached over, swiping the bowl of caramel corn from Ares's grip. He leaned back and began eating it, ready for a good show. _But too bad it wasn't my dear wife and wonderful brother…_

"**Wait," Annabeth said. **

"**Too late."**

"Yup, too late!" sang Will.

"**There's another Greek letter on the side of the boat, another Eta. This is a trap."**

"A pretty brilliant one, too," Hephaestus said, grinning.

Aphrodite realized, and sputtered, "You, you!"

"Me," Hephaestus agreed, smiling.

**Noise erupted all around us, of a million gears grinding, as if the whole pool were turning into one giant machine. **

"It probably was," Ares grumbled, trying to snatch the bowl of popcorn back and failing miserably.

**Grover yelled, "Guys!"**

**Up on the rim, the Cupid statues were drawing their bows into firing position. Before I could suggest taking cover, they shot, but not at us. They fired at each other, across the rim of the pool. Silky cables trailed from the arrows, arcing over the pool and anchoring where they landed to form a huge golden asterisk. Then smaller metallic threads started weaving together magically between the main strands, making a net. **

Hephaestus nodded, as if in approval of his future self. "A pretty good idea!"

"Pretty good? It's brilliant, Dad!" Leo cheered, bouncing up and down in his seat.

"Oh, I am _so_ going to mess with his love life," Aphrodite grumbled.

"She already has," Hazel murmured to herself.

"**We have to get out," I said. **

"**Duh!" Annabeth said. **

**I grabbed the shield and we ran, but going up the slope of the pool was not as easy as going down. **

"Just as I planned it, I bet," Hephaestus commented. He paused thoughtfully. "I wonder if I made teleporting impossible too…"

"**Come on!" Grover shouted. **

**He was trying to hold open a section of the net for us, but wherever he touched it, the golden threads started to wrap around his hands.**

**The Cupids' heads popped open. Out came video cameras. Spotlights rose up all around the pool, blinding us with illumination, and a loudspeaker voice boomed: "Live to Olympus in one minute... fifty-nine seconds, fifty-eight..."**

Apollo beamed. "Hephaestus TV! Just the source of entertainment we need in this place that stayed the same for three thousand years!"

"**Hephaestus!" Annabeth screamed. "I'm so stupid. 'Eta is H.' He made this trap to catch his wife with Ares. Now we're going to be broadcast live to Olympus and look like absolute fools!"**

"You needed help?" Octavian asked, almost innocently.

In a matter of seconds, Annabeth's knife was at his throat. "Say one more word…"

**We'd almost made it to the rim when the row of mirrors opened like hatches and thousands of tiny metallic... things poured out.**

**Annabeth screamed. **

Athena flinched. "Spiders," she whispered, shivering violently.

Annabeth winced, recalling the memory. It had _not_ been fun.

**It was an army of wind-up creepy-crawlies: bronze-gear bodies, spindly legs, little pincer mouths, all scuttling toward us in a wave of clacking, whirring metal. **

Athena's eyes were afraid. "Get them away from my daughter!" She turned accusing eyes on Hephaestus.

"What? How would I know that your kid was going to be victim? I thought it would be my disloyal wife and rubbish brother!"

"**Spiders!"Annabeth said. "Sp-sp-aaaah!"**

**I'd never seen her like this before. She fell backward in terror and almost got overwhelmed by the spider robots before I pulled her up and dragged her back toward the boat. **

Athena exhaled heavily. "Thank the gods."

"Actually, it was my son," Poseidon teased her.

Athena scowled. "Dream on, Fish Breath. I'm not about to thank your son."

**The things were coming out from all around the rim now, millions of them, flooding toward the center of the pool, completely surrounding us. I told myself they probably weren't programmed to kill, just corral us and bite us and make us look stupid. Then again, this was a trap meant for gods. And we weren't gods. **

Zeus snorted. "That's right, they aren't. Otherwise our entire kind would be threatened."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Annabeth asked him, a tone of forced politeness in her voice.

**Annabeth and I climbed into the boat. I started kicking away the spiders as they swarmed aboard. I yelled at Annabeth to help me, but she was too paralyzed to do much more than scream. **

"I would be too," Athena muttered, shivering.

"**Thirty, twenty-nine," called the loudspeaker. **

"Only twenty-nine seconds to get out of that place?" Poseidon asked. "Hey, at least it isn't as dangerous at the Arch incident."

"Nearly as terrifying," Annabeth mumbled.

**The spiders started spitting out strands of metal thread, trying to tie us down. The strands were easy enough to break at first, but there were so many of them, and the spiders just kept coming. I kicked one away from Annabeth's leg and its pincers took a chunk out of my new surf shoe. **

"What a loss," Aphrodite sighed, sarcastically, as her eyes were alight with amusement, probably because she hadn't become the victim of her husband's terrible prank.

**Grover hovered above the pool in his flying sneakers, trying to pull the net loose, but it wouldn't budge. **

"Of course it wouldn't," Frank groaned.

**Think, I told myself. Think. **

**The Tunnel of Love entrance was under the net. We could use it as an exit, except that it was blocked by a million robot spiders. **

"And I probably would have fainted from fear," Annabeth added.

"**Fifteen, fourteen," the loudspeaker called. **

**Water, I thought. Where does the ride's water come from?**

Realizing his son's plan, Poseidon grinned. "Brilliant!"

**Then I saw them: huge water pipes behind the mirrors, where the spiders had come from. **

"Missed that little detail, didn't you?" Poseidon asked his blacksmith nephew gleefully.

"I wasn't aware that a son of water would be involved!" Hephaestus defended himself quickly.

**And up above the net, next to one of the Cupids, a glass-windowed booth that must be the controller's station. **

"**Grover!" I yelled. "Get into that booth! Find the 'on' switch!"**

"It's an okay idea," Athena grudgingly admitted.

"**But-"**

"**Do it!" It was a crazy hope, but it was our only chance. The spiders were all over the prow of the boat now. Annabeth was screaming her head off. **

"I'm sor-ry! Not my fault Arachne decided to defy the gods so she was turned into a spider and my mother felt guilty!" Annabeth cried.

**I had to get us out of there. **

**Grover was in the controller's booth now, slamming away at the buttons. **

"**Five, four-"**

"Four seconds," Poseidon groaned. "It's going to be impossible now."

**Grover looked up at me hopelessly, raising his hands. He was letting me know that he'd pushed every button, but still nothing was happening. **

**I closed my eyes and thought about waves, rushing water, the Mississippi River. I felt a familiar tug in my gut. I tried to imagine that I was dragging the ocean all the way to Denver. **

"A landlocked city? That will work," remarked Athena sarcastically.

"**Two, one, **_**zero**_**!"**

Hermes's eyes were dancing with amusement. "I can't wait for this in the future. It would probably win the Best Episode of Hephaestus TV for the year! Or maybe even the decade!"

**Water exploded out of the pipes. It roared into the pool, sweeping away the spiders. I pulled Annabeth into the seat next to me and fastened her seat belt just as the tidal wave slammed into our boat, over the top, whisking the spiders away and dousing us completely, but not capsizing us. The boat turned, lifted in the flood, and spun in circles around the whirlpool. **

"Success!" cheered Poseidon.

**The water was full of short-circuiting spiders, some of them smashing against the pool's concrete wall with such force they burst. **

**Spotlights glared down at us. The Cupid-cams were rolling, live to Olympus. **

"And for our entertainment!" cheered Apollo.

**But I could only concentrate on controlling the boat. **

"Good," commented Hestia. "Concentration is key."

**I willed it to ride the current, to keep away from the wall. Maybe it was my imagination, but the boat seemed to respond. **

Grinning widely, Poseidon said, "Not your imagination at all, son! It's real!"

**At least, it didn't break into a million pieces. We spun around one last time, the water level now almost high enough to shred us against the metal net. Then the boat's nose turned toward the tunnel and we rocketed through into the darkness. **

"Darkness, darkness, darkness!" chanted Nico. "I just love darkness."

"Creepy," Will whispered to Katie.

Clarisse was looking disgusted and disapproving, probably imagining what it could have been if it had been her father in the boat.

**Annabeth and I held tight, both of us screaming as the boat shot curls and hugged corners and took forty-five-degree plunges past pictures of Romeo and Juliet and a bunch of other Valentine's Day stuff. **

"Sappy stuff," spat Ares, looking just as disgusted as his present daughter.

"That sappy stuff is great!" Aphrodite cried, looking offended. "How _could_ you?"

**Then we were out of the tunnel, the night air whistling through our hair as the boat barreled straight toward the exit. **

The Sea God and Wisdom Goddess both let out breaths in relief for their respective children, and then immediately glared at each other.

**If the ride had been in working order, we would've sailed off a ramp between the golden Gates of Love and splashed down safely in the exit pool. But there was a problem. The Gates of Love were chained. **

Apollo snorted. "Yup. Just a _slight_ problem."

**Two boats that had been washed out of the tunnel before us were now piled against the barricade – one submerged, the other cracked in half.**

"**Unfasten your seat belt," I yelled to Annabeth. **

"What?" Athena shrieked, jumping off her throne. "Are you _crazy_?"

"Exactly what I said, Mother," Annabeth replied.

"**Are you crazy?"**

"**Unless you want to get smashed to death." I strapped Ares's shield to my arm. "We're going to have to jump for it." My idea was simple and insane. As the boat struck, we would use its force like a springboard to jump the gate. I'd heard of people surviving car crashes that way, getting thrown thirty or forty feet away from an accident. With luck, we would land in the pool. **

Athena winced. "It's not a watertight plan at all! _So_ many things could go wrong! The physics… the landing… you could be _killed_!"

**Annabeth seemed to understand. She gripped my hand as the gates got closer. **

"Ooh," teased Connor.

"Shut up!"

"**On my mark," I said. **

"**No! On my mark!"**

"**What?"**

"**Simple physics!" she yelled. "Force times the trajectory angle-"**

Athena sighed. "Thank you," she told her daughter. "At least _someone_ understands the simplest of physics!"

"They're twelve!" Poseidon reminded her. "No _normal_ twelve-year-old would know physics, even that simple!"

"**Fine!" I shouted. "On **_**your **_**mark!"**

**She hesitated... hesitated... then yelled, "Now!"**

_**Crack!**_

**Annabeth was right. If we'd jumped when I thought we should've, we would've crashed into the gates. She got us maximum lift.**

"Sometimes maximum is too much," Hestia worried.

**Unfortunately, that was a little more than we needed. **

Flinching, Hera said, "Hestia was right."

Annabeth looked sheepish. "Whoops."

**Our boat smashed into the pileup and we were thrown into the air, straight over the gates, over the pool, and down toward solid asphalt. **

"So Percy laughed in the face of death twice?" Will asked innocently.

**Something grabbed me from behind. **

"Ooh, the suspense!" joked Hazel.

**Annabeth yelled, "Ouch!"**

**Grover!**

**In midair, he had grabbed me by the shirt, and Annabeth by the arm, and was trying to pull us out of a crash landing, but Annabeth and I had all the momentum. **

Demeter winced. "Too bad wheat isn't around. It might have softened their fall!"

"**You're too heavy!" Grover said. "We're going down!"**

**We spiraled toward the ground, Grover doing his best to slow the fall. **

"Which will ultimately fail, right?" Leo asked.

Annabeth rolled her eyes.

**We smashed into a photo-board, Grover's head going straight into the hole where tourists would put their faces, pretending to be Noo-Noo the Friendly Whale. **

Raising an eyebrow, Persephone said, "The weirdest of details."

**Annabeth and I tumbled to the ground, banged up but alive. Ares's shield was still on my arm. **

"Of course _that's_ what they worry about," grumbled Poseidon.

**Once we caught our breath, Annabeth and I got Grover out of the photo-board and thanked him for saving our lives. I looked back at the Thrill Ride of Love. The water was subsiding. Our boat had been smashed to pieces against the gates. **

"At least _they_ hadn't been smashed to pieces," remarked Athena. "Sea spawn, maybe, but my daughter? No thanks."

**A hundred yards away, at the entrance pool, the Cupids were still filming. **

"Of course they were," Hephaestus said, but he sounded disappointed. He gave the bowl back to his brother. "Too bad my plan didn't work out _all_ the way."

**The statues had swiveled so that their cameras were trained straight on us, the spotlights in our faces. **

"**Show's over!" I yelled. "Thank you! Good night!"**

"Aw, darn," murmured Apollo, earning himself a glare from Poseidon, Athena, and Annabeth.

**The Cupids turned back to their original positions. The lights shut off. The park went quiet and dark again, except for the gentle trickle of water into the Thrill Ride of Love's exit pool. I wondered if Olympus had gone to a commercial break, or if our ratings had been any good. **

"Crazy," Reyna murmured. "After all that, and he wonders _that_?"

**I hated being teased. I hated being tricked. And I had plenty of experience handling bullies who liked to do that stuff to me. I hefted the shield on my arm and turned to my friends. "We need to have a little talk with Ares."**

Piper set the book down. "Could I have a glass of water, please? That was a long chapter."

Aphrodite waved her hand, and a glass appeared in front of her daughter. Piper smiled gratefully, and gulped some of it down.

"Who would like to read next?" she asked.

"I will," Frank offered, reaching for the book, which Piper gave him. "Thanks."

x.o.x.o.x.

A/N: There you are! Pretty late, but that's forty-eight pages in Word, and over 14,000 words. Hope you enjoyed it, and thank you for getting me to over 250 reviews! I am truly flattered! Oh, and who's excited for the release of MoA? I sure am! Thanks to Sadie Breezy for giving me the link to the first five chapters! They were truly amazing, and I cannot wait for Tuesday! Until next time, enjoy the book!


	17. We Take a Zebra to Vegas Part I

A/N: Right. I'm really sorry about this late, late, late, late, LATE update, but I can't help it! School is really annoying in this sense. Forgive me?

Oh, and note: This takes place BEFORE Mark of Athena!

***A _little_ spoiler for Mark of Athena ahead, but just of Dionysus's drink preference! You could always skip that little part, it's when Grover and Annabeth are telling Percy about Thalia.***

x.o.x.o.x.

"Could you hold off for a second?" Thalia asked Frank, holding up a hand to stop him.

Looking puzzled, Frank nodded. "Sure."

Thalia nodded gratefully to him and rose, looking at Annabeth. "Come on, Annabeth. I said we'd talk."

Annabeth smiled slightly, and rose as well. "Okay."

x.o.x.o.x.

"Annabeth, Luke did _one _good thing," Thalia hissed at her friend as they stood outside the majestic throne room doors.

"Thals, that '_one_ good thing' saved all of our lives," Annabeth replied fiercely.

Thalia looked at her in amazement. "Annabeth, I really don't know what's gotten into you! I've known you for years, and you _never_ let people step over you! You're defending Luke, when you were hurt by him time after time! And you don't bother to defend _your boyfriend's_ honor when your mother insults him as a child and a piece of garbage!"

Annabeth's eyes grew stormier as she straightened, a determined glint in her eye. "Thalia, I am not letting people step over me. I'm defending someone who was like my older brother, someone who was my mentor. And I believe I know my mother better than you do. If I give her some time, she'll calm down. But nothing good would come out of fighting with her. Not even given our last correspondence."

Her friend's eyes narrowed. "Annabeth, Luke nearly got us _killed_. Every last one of us, and then he would have led the whole world into a reign of terror as the evil Titan Lord's right hand man! I suggest that you keep your comments to yourself so that you don't get verbally attacked by our friends, and also that you start defending Percy's honor more. Unless you want him to tick off every single god on the Olympian council once he gets here." She said it confidently, as if she was _sure_ that Percy would show up at one point.

Hearing that, Annabeth slid to the ground, her forehead resting against her kneecaps. When she spoke, it was with a completely different tone. "Thalia, we haven't seen Seaweed Brain in _months_. What makes you think that he'll come?"

Thalia just gave her an intense look. "The Fates won't let us get through the whole series without him showing up, Annabeth. He's the _star_ of them, for gods' sakes!"

"You might want to be careful using that term, as a lot of powerful gods are in there who'd like their sakes to be with them," Annabeth warned her.

Her friend shook her head and walked back into the throne room.

Sighing, Annabeth pulled herself up, dusted off her clothes, and also reentered the throne room, ignoring the curious gazes that stayed on her, especially her mother's.

"Start," Thalia told Frank, nodding. "Thanks for waiting."

Nico looked at his friends in concern, but then turned away as Frank started the chapter.

**We Take a Zebra to Vegas**, Frank read.

"A _zebra_ to _Vegas_?" repeated Poseidon.

"They don't know how to party," Dionysus commented. "They could use some lessons." He paused, trying to think of some of his children that could be at the brats' camp in the time of the present demigods. "Maybe Castor and Pollux could teach them."

Some of the older Greek demigods flinched. The Romans, however, except Octavian, chuckled, thinking of Dakota.

"Do children of Bac- Dionysus at Camp Half-Blood drink Kool-Aid?" Hazel asked the Greeks, earning a lot of odd looks.

Reyna chuckled again. "Dakota is a Roman camper, the senior centurion of the Fifth Cohort. He's a son of Bacchus, and has an addiction to red Kool-Aid with triple the amount of sugar."

Still chuckling, Frank continued to read.

**The war god was waiting for us in the diner parking lot.**

"**Well, well," he said. "You didn't get yourselves killed."**

Knowing Percy, Thalia winced. "That will just rile Percy up. He gets ticked off by gods and ticks them off pretty easily."

Poseidon also looked uneasy. "I've heard," he muttered, silently worrying for his son's future. If he made the gods upset often, knowing his family, he could end up as a pile of ashes before long.

"**You knew it was a trap," I said. **

**Ares gave me a wicked grin. "Bet that crippled blacksmith was surprised when he netted a couple of stupid kids. **

Hephaestus gritted his teeth, but said nothing. _Crippled, huh?_

**You looked good on TV."**

**I shoved his shield at him. "You're a jerk."**

Most of the demigods flinched.

So did Poseidon, Hera, and Hestia.

**Annabeth and Grover caught their breath. **

**Ares grabbed the shield and spun it in the air like pizza dough. It changed form, melting into a bulletproof vest. He slung it across his back. **

"**See that truck over there?" He pointed to an eighteen-wheeler parked across the street from the diner. "That's your ride. Take you straight to L.A., with one stop in Vegas."**

Poseidon let out a breath. "At least he didn't blow my son up," he said aloud.

Ares smirked.

"Because I'd probably blast him into the ocean, and then turn him to algae," Poseidon finished.

**The eighteen-wheeler had a sign on the back, which I could read only because it was reverse-printed white on black, a good combination for dyslexia: KINDNESS INTER-NATIONAL: HUMANE ZOO TRANSPORT. WARNING: LIVE WILD ANIMALS.**

Artemis raised an eyebrow. "Live wild animals?" she repeated.

Annabeth just smiled. "You should know I wouldn't let any harm get to them, Lady Artemis." Then she smiled at Thalia. "If I did, Thalia might have killed me in the future."

**I said, "You're kidding."**

**Ares snapped his fingers. The back door of the truck unlatched. "Free ride west, punk. Stop complaining. And here's a little something for doing the job."**

"Despicable," murmured Hera. "So difficult to raise properly."

**He slung a blue nylon backpack off his handlebars and tossed it to me.**

**Inside were fresh clothes for all of us, twenty bucks in cash, a pouch full of golden drachmas, and a bag of Double Stuf Oreos. **

"Double Stuf Oreos? Best invention of the twentieth century!" yelled Apollo.

**I said, "I don't want your lousy-"**

"**Thank you, Lord Ares," Grover interrupted, giving me his best red-alert warning look. "Thanks a lot."**

"At least the faun has some sense," muttered Octavian bitterly.

"Satyr!" Piper snapped at him, annoyed. "Get it right!"

**I gritted my teeth. It was probably a deadly insult to refuse something from a god, but I didn't want anything that Ares had touched. **

"It _is_ a deadly insult," agreed Reyna.

**Reluctantly, I slung the backpack over my shoulder. I knew my anger was being caused by the war god's presence, but I was still itching to punch him in the nose. He reminded me of every bully I'd ever faced: Nancy Bobofit, Clarisse, Smelly Gabe, sarcastic teachers-every jerk who'd called me stupid in school or laughed at me when I'd gotten expelled. **

"Poor child," murmured Hestia. "It must be terrible. He had such a troubling childhood."

"I think all demigods do," Nico muttered.

**I looked back at the diner, which had only a couple of customers now. The waitress who'd served us dinner was watching nervously out the window, like she was afraid Ares might hurt us. She dragged the fry cook out from the kitchen to see. She said something to him. He nodded, held up a little disposable camera and snapped a picture of us. **

Athena raised an eyebrow. "On Ares's side or sea spawn's side?"

Annabeth heard Thalia's voice in her head. _And you don't bother to defend _your_ boyfriend's honor when your mother insults him as a child and a piece of garbage!_ "Well, now I will," she whispered to herself. Louder, she snapped at her mother, "Don't call him that. He has a _name_ you know!"

Shocked, Athena couldn't even muster up an answer. She had thought that her daughter now shared her views on the poor excuse for a boy.

Poseidon, however, was appraising the girl with interest now. It took guts to stand up to your godly parent, especially if it was Athena. Athena had the wits and brains to make your life miserable in a subtle way. To defend a boy she utterly disapproved of was nearly suicide. Perhaps she was a good match for his Percy after all.

**Great, I thought. We'll make the papers again tomorrow. **

**I imagined the headline: TWELVE-YEAR-OLD OUTLAW BEATS UP DEFENSELESS BIKER.**

"Little do they know that the defenseless biker is the war god himself," Hazel mumbled to herself.

Frank heard her and chuckled, gripping her hand for a second before letting go. Hazel smiled warmly at him.

"**You owe me one more thing," I told Ares, trying to keep my voice level. "You promised me information about my mother."**

"He would do anything for his mother," Demeter commented. "This is one boy who doesn't need cereal at the moment. Sally Jackson has raised him well."

"Or it could be in his blood," Reyna pointed out. "Sally seems like a very nice woman, self-sacrificing and selfless. Some of those genes could be placed in Percy."

As some agreed and some pointed out that Poseidon was also Percy's parent (cough, Athena, cough) Nico mused upon this. He had tricked Percy just to get some measly information from Hades about his own mother. Had it been worth it? Definitely not, Nico decided.

"**You sure you can handle the news?" He kick-started his motorcycle. "She's not dead."**

Poseidon jerked upright. "She's not dead?" he echoed, a look of disbelief and relief etched on his face.

Aphrodite smiled as she felt a strong emotion course through her. She didn't identify it as love, but it was close enough.

Reading his wife's emotions, Hephaestus frowned. She had such temper swings. For the earlier chapters, she had been on his side. And now, when Ares came up, she was on his!

**The ground seemed to spin beneath me. "What do you mean?"**

"That she's awake and breathing, duh," Dionysus told the book.

"**I mean she was taken away from the Minotaur before she could die. She was turned into a shower of gold, right? That's metamorphosis. Not death. She's being kept."**

"**Kept. Why?"**

"As a hostage, duh, punk," replied Clarisse. "Don't you know anything about war?"

"I think it's safe to say that he knows plenty about war, Clarisse," Will snapped at her.

"**You need to study war, punk. Hostages. You take somebody to control somebody else."**

"That's right," Clarisse agreed. "No other plan would work as well as this one."

"What? Hurting somebody? Only sick people would do that," Katie told her.

"**Nobody's controlling me."**

**He laughed. "Oh yeah? See you around, kid."**

"Cryptic," murmured Athena, her mind beginning to work.

Annabeth didn't care, at least her mother wasn't insulting Percy at every turn.

**I balled up my fists. "You're pretty smug, Lord Ares, for a guy who runs from Cupid statues."**

The demigods flinched.

"_So_ not a good idea," Rachel added, flinching too.

"Punk's got spunk," Ares grumbled. "He really _is_ a lucky son of a-"

"Ares!" Hera snapped, cutting her son off. "Watch your language!" Her eyes flashed.

"I'm an immortal god, Mother. I can do what I want," Ares replied, but he stopped, not bothering to continue his sentence.

**Behind his sunglasses, fire glowed. I felt a hot wind in my hair. "We'll meet again, Percy Jackson. Next time you're in a fight, watch your back."**

"The curse of Ares? Not good," Will murmured. "Not good at all."

Ares, however, looked smug. "That'll teach the punk to respect those who need to be respected."

"You need a lesson in that too," Hera bit at him, but there wasn't any real sting. She knew her son was beyond repair.

**He revved his Harley, then roared off down Delancy Street. **

**Annabeth said, "That was not smart, Percy."**

"Percy? Smart?" Connor asked, feigning shock.

Reyna chuckled, but she said, "I don't know, son of Merc- Hermes, he _did_ get the role of praetor, which means he isn't completely useless."

Annabeth also laughed. "That's a surprise."

"**I don't care."**

"**You don't want a god as your enemy. Especially not that god."**

Ares grinned. "That's right. Especially not me."

"**Hey, guys," Grover said. "I hate to interrupt, but..."**

**He pointed toward the diner. At the register, the last two customers were paying their check, two men in identical black coveralls, with a white logo on their backs that matched the one on the KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL truck. **

"**If we're taking the zoo express," Grover said, "we need to hurry."**

"Hurry indeed," Hera murmured, hoping that they would get on the truck even if Percy didn't want to take charity from her war-obsessed son.

**I didn't like it, but we had no better option. Besides, I'd seen enough of Denver. **

Apollo snorted. "He's seen enough, all right."

"But maybe he should see more," Hermes added.

Annabeth shuddered. "No thanks."

**We ran across the street and climbed in the back of the big rig, closing the doors behind us. **

**The first thing that hit me was the smell. It was like the world's biggest pan of kitty litter. **

Aphrodite wrinkled her nose. "That sounds utterly disgusting."

"Oh, for Hades' sake! It's _natural_!" Artemis snapped at her, reaching the end of her thread of patience.

"Don't snap at her!" Ares spat at Artemis, looking in worry at Aphrodite. "Are you alright, my love?"

Hades rolled his eyes. "I like my sake, thank you very much."

"And for lords' sakes!" exploded Athena. "Artemis just stated a fact! Aphrodite isn't a glass vase! She won't be broken by a comment that didn't even _insult her_!"

**The trailer was dark inside until I uncapped Anaklusmos. The blade cast a faint bronze light over a very sad scene. Sitting in a row of filthy metal cages were three of the most pathetic zoo animals I'd ever beheld: a zebra, a male albino lion, and some weird antelope thing I didn't know the name for. **

Apollo, Hermes, Connor, Travis, Will, and Leo burst out laughing.

"Some weird antelope thing he didn't know the name for?" asked Travis.

"Definitely a quotable quote!" Connor finished.

"Quotable quote?" repeated Annabeth, raising an eyebrow.

"Go with the flow, Annie!"

"_Don't call me Annie!_"

**Someone had thrown the lion a sack of turnips, which he obviously didn't want to eat. The zebra and the antelope had each gotten a Styrofoam tray of hamburger meat. The zebra's mane was matted with chewing gum, like somebody had been spitting on it in their spare time. The antelope had a stupid silver birthday balloon tied to one of his horns that read OVER THE HILL!**

"These animals would make for an interesting zoo," Hermes commented dryly. "I'd definitely go visit it."

**Apparently, nobody had wanted to get close enough to the lion to mess with him, but the poor thing was pacing around on soiled blankets, in a space way too small for him, panting from the stuffy heat of the trailer. He had flies buzzing around his pink eyes and his ribs showed through his white fur. **

Hestia looked troubled. "That's so sad. The animals, not only the lion, all deserve freedom to roam around in their natural habitat."

"I heartily agree, Lady Hestia," Artemis said, smiling at her aunt.

"Lion! Gryffindor!" Thalia made the connection.

Several people looked at her in confusion, but Annabeth grinned. "Nah, Ravenclaw beats Gryffindor any day!"

They were about to get into a heated argument when Frank intervened, "Okay, can we read _this_ book and not concentrate on Harry Potter?"

When the girls fell silent, he grinned. "I think Hufflepuff is the best!"

"**This is kindness?" Grover yelled. "Humane zoo transport?"**

**He probably would've gone right back outside to beat up the truckers with his reed pipes, and I would've helped him, **

Artemis seemed to be contemplating the satyr and the son of Poseidon, and she said grudgingly, "Maybe they aren't as bad as other men."

**but just then the trucks engine roared to life, the trailer started shaking, and we were forced to sit down or fall down.**

**We huddled in the corner on some mildewed feed sacks, trying to ignore the smell and the heat and the flies. **

"It must be hard to do that," Persephone sympathized.

Annabeth snorted. "It was _really_ hard to do that. It was glaringly terrible."

**Grover talked to the animals in a series of goat bleats, but they just stared at him sadly. Annabeth was in favor of breaking the cages and freeing them on the spot, but I pointed out it wouldn't do much good until the truck stopped moving. Besides, I had a feeling we might look a lot better to the lion than those turnips. **

Again, Apollo, Hermes, Connor, Travis, Will, and Leo burst into laughter. Frank joined them this time.

"And if the lion ate Percy, we'd be dead!" Connor chirped.

"What a happy thought," Nico muttered.

"And I'd be shouldering a job meant for two people again," Reyna pointed out.

Jason looked down guiltily. "Sorry about that, Rey."

Reyna smiled slightly at him, her eyes telling him that she forgave him. Piper, catching the exchange, frowned a little, and gripped Jason's hand. Oblivious to this, Jason just smiled at her before turning his attention back to the son of Mars.

**I found a water jug and refilled their bowls, then used Anaklusmos to drag the mismatched food out of their cages. I gave the meat to the lion and the turnips to the zebra and the antelope. **

**Grover calmed the antelope down, while Annabeth used her knife to cut the balloon off his horn. She wanted to cut the gum out of the zebra's mane, too, but we decided that would be too risky with the truck bumping around. **

"Yes, it would turn out disastrously. The zebra could get cut," Artemis fretted.

"Don't worry, they didn't risk it," Athena assured her half-sister with a smile.

**We told Grover to promise the animals we'd help them more in the morning, then we settled in for night. **

"He's a good satyr," remarked Apollo. "Like all satyrs, he thinks of nature and wildlife animals."

**Grover curled up on a turnip sack; Annabeth opened our bag of Double Stuf Oreos and nibbled on one half-heartedly; **

Athena looked at her daughter in worry. "Is something wrong, Annabeth?"

Annabeth didn't look at her mother, keeping a stony silence that almost, _almost_ had Poseidon pitying the Wisdom Goddess, but not quite.

**I tried to cheer myself up by concentrating on the fact that we were halfway to Los Angeles. Halfway to our destination. It was only June fourteenth. The solstice wasn't until the twenty- first. We could make it in plenty of time.**

**On the other hand, I had no idea what to expect next. The gods kept toying with me. At least Hephaestus had the decency to be honest about it – he'd put up cameras and advertised me as entertainment. **

Hephaestus smiled gruffly. "Thanks, kid. I do try to be honest sometimes."

"I don't! God of thieves here!" cheered Hermes. "And I'm proud of it!"

**But even when the cameras weren't rolling, I had a feeling my quest was being watched. I was a source of amusement for the gods. **

"We do sound sadistic when it's put that way," Hestia gently said to her family, who looked away in shame. The Goddess of the Hearth had that effect on them, even Zeus, who could play all high and mighty, but when his older sister got to him, he was a terrified little boy.

"**Hey," Annabeth said, "I'm sorry for freaking out back at the water park, Percy."**

"**That's okay."**

"**It's just..." She shuddered. "Spiders."**

Athena also shuddered.

"**Because of the Arachne story," I guessed. "She got turned into a spider for challenging your mom to a weaving contest, right?"**

The Goddess of Wisdom flinched. "I didn't so much punish her for losing, or being better. I punished her for her pride." She looked at the book almost sternly. "Perseus Jackson, you'd do well to learn to respect the gods, or your fate shall be the same of Arachne's."

Annabeth bit her lip. "No it won't," she declared, "because I won't let it." Her grey eyes flashed warning at her mother.

**Annabeth nodded. "Arachne's children have been taking revenge on the children of Athena ever since. If there's a spider within a mile of me, it'll find me. I hate the creepy little things. **

"I do too," Athena agreed darkly.

"It was your choice to curse her, Mother," Annabeth snapped at her, finally losing her temper.

"She was insulting me and the gods!" Athena exclaimed. "Do you expect me to stand by and watch, taking no action?"

Annabeth just rolled her eyes. "Of course I do! You're thousands of years old, Mother, and a goddess of wisdom at that! No one would expect you to act on a childish impulse of punishing an innocent mortal!"

Athena's own eyes narrowed. "Innocent? She was insulting us, Annabeth Chase! No mortal in their right mind would insult a god!"

"Are you calling my boyfriend insane?" Annabeth yelled, losing her temper again. "You have gone too far, Mother! I _insist_ that you sit down and start acting your age and title before I bring all my friends and the rest of your family to read in a different room _without_ you!"

Slightly fearful, Frank raised his voice to be heard over the quarreling mother and daughter.

**Anyway, I owe you."**

"**We're a team, remember?" I said. "Besides, Grover did the fancy flying."**

"Trying to include the satyr," Hestia observed warmly, smiling as the throne room hearth's fire jumped. Her eyes, however, were still observing her niece and her niece's daughter.

Annabeth was turned away, focusing solely on Frank and the book. Her mother was sitting in stony silence on her throne with a regal, stiff posture, her eyes staring without seeing on the opposite wall.

Hestia sighed. Really, her family had too many arguments for her to lead a peaceful life.

**I thought he was asleep, but he mumbled from the corner, "I was pretty amazing, wasn't I?"**

**Annabeth and I laughed. **

**She pulled apart an Oreo, handed me half. "In the Iris message... did Luke really say nothing?"**

"Ooh, poor Percy," teased Travis. "He has to endure his love's gushing over Luke!"

Annabeth flushed beet red, but she didn't take her eyes off the book in Frank's hand. "Shut it, Stoll," she hissed, removing her knife carelessly and pointing it at him.

Gulping, Travis complied, his eyes wary on her knife.

**I munched my cookie and thought about how to answer. The conversation via rainbow had bothered me all evening. "Luke said you and he go way back. He also said Grover wouldn't fail this time. Nobody would turn into a pine tree."**

Zeus paled. If this was going to be a talk about his dead daughter, he didn't really want to listen in. But then his eyes landed on said daughter, and she was quite alive and breathing, so he took a deep breath of his own and braced himself.

Thalia noticed this, and smiled smugly inwardly. Maybe Zeus _would_ learn his lesson one day.

**In the dim bronze light of the sword blade, it was hard to read their expressions. **

**Grover let out a mournful bray. **

"**I should've told you the truth from the beginning." His voice trembled. "I thought if you knew what a failure I was, you wouldn't want me along."**

"Grover isn't a failure!" exclaimed Thalia. "Why can't people get it through their thick heads that _it wasn't his fault_?" As she said that, she shot a pointed look at her father, before continuing, "It was _my choice_! Can't you accept that?"

No one answered, but Reyna was studying the daughter of Zeus with interest. Maybe the sister of Jason Grace wasn't too bad. After all, she was a Hunter of Artemis, and had pretty strong morals. Reyna smiled. Jason had gotten loyal friends at Camp Half-Blood.

"**You were the satyr who tried to rescue Thalia, the daughter of Zeus."**

Thalia grimaced slightly.

**He nodded glumly. **

"**And the other two half-bloods Thalia befriended, the ones who got safely to camp..." I looked at Annabeth. "That was you and Luke, wasn't it?"**

"He discovers!" gasped Piper with exaggerated enthusiasm, sensing that the tension from Annabeth and Athena's fight still lingered in the air.

Annabeth managed a strained smile, feeling grateful that Piper was trying, and that her mother had had the sense to shut the Hades up.

**She put down her Oreo, uneaten. "Like you said, Percy, a seven-year-old half-blood wouldn't have made it very far alone. Athena guided me toward help.**

Annabeth smiled wryly. _Oh, look how the tables have turned._ She wasn't kissing Athena's feet anymore. Now she was defending herself and Percy.

Judging by her friends' looks, they were all thinking, _Finally. _

**Thalia was twelve. Luke was fourteen. They'd both run away from home, like me. They were happy to take me with them. They were... amazing monster- fighters, even without training. **

"Of course they were," murmured Hera. "Thalia, a daughter of _him_" – she sent a glare at her husband and her stepdaughter – "and Luke, who had it innately."

**We traveled north from Virginia without any real plans, fending off monsters for about two weeks before Grover found us."**

"**I was supposed to escort Thalia to camp," he said, sniffling. "Only Thalia. **

Thalia smiled slightly. "But I wouldn't let him. And because of his kind heart, he wouldn't leave Luke and Annabeth."

**I had strict orders from Chiron: don't do anything that would slow down the rescue. We knew Hades was after her, see, but I couldn't just leave Luke and Annabeth by themselves. I thought... I thought I could lead all three of them to safety. It was my fault the Kindly Ones caught up with us. I froze. I got scared on the way back to camp and took some wrong turns. If I'd just been a little quicker..."**

"**Stop it," Annabeth said. "No one blames you. Thalia didn't blame you either."**

"That's right, I don't," Thalia agreed.

Zeus, for once, had enough brains to not say anything to contradict her and set her off.

"**She sacrificed herself to save us," he said miserably, "Her death was my fault. The Council of Cloven Elders said so."**

Dionysus snorted, taking a swig of Diet Coke. "That council of fat, pot-bellied satyrs? No one takes them seriously."

"I thought he preferred Diet Pepsi," Hazel whispered to Reyna, who chuckled quietly and shrugged.

"His tastes probably change with his form," Reyna responded.

"**Because you wouldn't leave two other half-bloods behind?" I said. "That's not fair."**

"Not fair at all," agreed Persephone, looking worried. "He didn't get punished, did he?"

"Punished?" Dionysus snorted. "No one knows punishment like I do, dear half-sister."

Persephone just looked at him and shivered. She did _not_ need to be reminded that they were half-siblings. Apparently, neither did Thalia, because she sat back with a disgusted look on her face.

"**Percy's right," Annabeth said. "I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for you, Grover. Neither would Luke. We don't care what the council says."**

"That 'council' is rubbish anyway," commented Nico.

**Grover kept sniffling in the dark. "It's just my luck. I'm the lamest satyr ever, and I find the two most powerful half-bloods of the century, Thalia and Percy."**

"Most powerful?" asked Jason, raising an eyebrow.

Will rolled his eyes. "Dude, we didn't know you peeps existed. So obviously Thalia and Percy are considered the most powerful demigods."

"I'm pretty powerful," Thalia agreed, nodding but laughing at the same time.

"Sure thing, sis," Jason placated her, smirking.

"**You're not lame," Annabeth insisted. "You've got more courage than any satyr I've ever met. Name one other who would dare go to the Underworld. I bet Percy is really glad you're here right now."**

**She kicked me in the shin. **

Artemis laughed. "It's good to know that you have so much faith in the boy, Annabeth." Then she smiled. "I don't blame you."

"I have faith in him _now_," Annabeth muttered, but she was also smiling. It was true. She believed in Percy even then, but it wasn't as strong a trust as it was now.

"**Yeah," I said, which I would've done even without the kick. "It's not luck that you found Thalia and me, Grover. You've got the biggest heart of any satyr ever. You're a natural searcher. That's why you'll be the one who finds Pan."**

Hermes sat up. "Pan? Will Grover find him? Is he okay?" he asked, serious again.

Annabeth winced as her friends looked at her expectantly. "You'll see," she finally said, not wanting to be the one to break the news about the god.

**I heard a deep, satisfied sigh. I waited for Grover to say something, but his breathing only got heavier. When the sound turned to snoring, I realized he'd fallen asleep. **

Several of the audience members snickered.

"**How does he do that?" I marveled. **

"**I don't know," Annabeth said. "But that was really a nice thing you told him."**

"**I meant it."**

"How sweet," murmured Hestia with a smile. Maybe her direct family members, all the deities, were bad in terms of family, but perhaps the half-bloods wouldn't be too bad. They seemed to have a pretty good grasp on loyalty.

Sensing what she was thinking, several of the Greek demigods smiled at the kind goddess.

**We rode in silence for a few miles, bumping around on the feed sacks. The zebra munched a turnip. The lion licked the last of the hamburger meat off his lips and looked at me hopefully.**

Frank, Leo, Connor, and Travis burst out into snorting laughter.

"I love this guy," snorted Leo, trying to stop.

Frank just shook his head. "He surfaced-" Hazel slapped a hand over his mouth. "Ujanfg!"

Hazel just looked at him sharply. "

**Annabeth rubbed her necklace like she was thinking deep, strategic thoughts. **

"**That pine-tree bead," I said. "Is that from your first year?"**

**She looked. She hadn't realized what she was doing. **

Annabeth smiled. "It had already become second nature by then."

"And even more of a habit now," Thalia added, smiling at her.

The daughter of Athena grinned back. Maybe things with Thalia wouldn't be that bad after all.

"**Yeah," she said. "Every August, the counselors pick the most important event of the summer, and they paint it on that year's beads. I've got Thalia's pine tree, a Greek trireme on fire, a centaur in a prom dress-now that was a weird summer..."**

"A centaur in a prom dress?" Reyna asked. Her eyebrows rose.

Annabeth chuckled. "A centaur in a prom dress." She caught Frank rereading the sentence to be sure he read it right. Again, she laughed. "You don't have to do that, Frank. I'm pretty sure there's a bead with a centaur in a prom dress on my camp necklace."

"**And the college ring is your father's?"**

"**That's none of your-" She stopped herself. "Yeah. Yeah, it is."**

"**You don't have to tell me."**

Connor gasped. "_Percy_ being _sensitive_? Is the zombie apocalypse happening?"

"**No... it's okay." She took a shaky breath. "My dad sent it to me folded up in a letter, two summers ago. The ring was, like, his main keepsake from Athena. **

The aforementioned goddess smiled wistfully.

Annabeth winced slightly. She hardly spoke about her mother and father in the same paragraph, or even a day.

**He wouldn't have gotten through his doctoral program at Harvard without her... That's a long story. Anyway, he said he wanted me to have it. He apologized for being a jerk, said he loved me and missed me. **

"That's good," commented Hestia. She smiled at Annabeth. "It's good that your father wanted to reach out to you."

"It didn't exactly turn out well, Lady Hestia," Annabeth replied truthfully.

Hestia's eyebrows crinkled in confusion, but she tactfully didn't question, and gestured for Frank to continue instead.

**He wanted me to come home and live with him."**

"**That doesn't sound so bad."**

"**Yeah, well... the problem was, I believed him. I tried to go home for that school year, but my stepmom was the same as ever. She didn't want her kids put in danger by living with a freak. **

Athena glared. "A _freak_? You're calling my daughter a _freak_?"

"Mother, I'm used to it." Annabeth didn't mean for it to come out hostile, but it came out icy.

**Monsters attacked. We argued. Monsters attacked. We argued. **

"A regular occurrence, then, huh?" Travis asked, trying to break the tension.

It didn't work.

**I didn't even make it through winter break. I called Chiron and came right back to Camp Half-Blood."**

"Which is more of a home than with my father could ever be," Annabeth murmured, even though her relationship with her father was fixed.

"**You think you'll ever try living with your dad again?"**

**She wouldn't meet my eyes. "Please. I'm not into self-inflicted pain."**

"That bad?" Nico asked Annabeth softly.

"Yeah," Annabeth replied, the word mixed in with a sigh.

"**You shouldn't give up," I told her. "You should write him a letter or something."**

"**Thanks for the advice," she said coldly, "but my father's made his choice about who he wants to live with."**

**We passed another few miles of silence. **

"**So if the gods fight," I said, "will things line up the way they did with the Trojan War? Will it be Athena versus Poseidon?"**

The mentioned gods glared at each other.

"Probably," Poseidon muttered.

Many of the demigods, and even the other gods, rolled their eyes.

"Sexual tension," coughed Connor.

Annabeth gave him a look of absolute disgust, thankful that her mother and the Sea God hadn't heard.

**She put her head against the backpack Ares had given us, and closed her eyes. "I don't know what my mom will do. I just know I'll fight next to you."**

Athena's eyes widened. "_Ex_cuse me?"

"I said that I was going to fight next to Percy, Mother," Annabeth snapped. "Do you have a problem with that?" Her voice left no room for disagreement, even for the goddess.

"**Why?"**

"**Because you're my friend, Seaweed Brain. Any more stupid questions?"**

"Ooh, Annie _lurves _Perce!" Travis and Connor sang.

"Shut the Hades up!"

**I couldn't think of an answer for that. Fortunately I didn't have to. Annabeth was asleep. **

**I had trouble following her example, with Grover snoring and an albino lion staring hungrily at me, but eventually I closed my eyes.**

"Uh-oh," said Rachel. "Nightmare time, right?"

Katie giggled. "Yep. You've been spending too much time around us, Rach. You're picking up on the everyday lives of demigods."

**My nightmare started out as something I'd dreamed a million times before: I was being forced to take a standardized test while wearing a straitjacket. **

"Ooh, bad luck, man," sympathized Leo.

Piper rolled her eyes. "You'd probably get the same score without a straitjacket on as Percy would _with_ a straitjacket on."

Leo put a hand to his heart. "You wound me, beauty queen."

It seemed that paranoia was returning, for Jason narrowed his eyes suspiciously and discreetly at his best friend.

**All the other kids were going out to recess, and the teacher kept saying, **_**Come on, Percy. You're not stupid, are you? Pick up your pencil. **_

"That's terrible," remarked Demeter. "That teacher, even in a dream, needs some cereal!"

"Mother, we get it," sighed Persephone. "Everyone needs to eat cereal."

"That's right! It's good to see that that awful place hasn't contaminated you completely yet, dear. But we still need to get you out of that place. Can't you do something, Zeus?"

Zeus rubbed his temple. "Demeter, this argument is thousands of years old. Just leave it. What it is, it is."

Demeter scowled.

**Then the dream strayed from the usual. **

**I looked over at the next desk and saw a girl sitting there, also wearing a straitjacket. She was my age, with unruly black, punk-style hair, dark eyeliner around her stormy green eyes, and freckles across her nose. **

"Me," Thalia realized, startled. "Why am I in Percy's dream?"

**Somehow, I knew who she was. She was Thalia, daughter of Zeus.**

"And why does he recognize me?" Thalia added.

**She struggled against the straitjacket, glared at me in frustration, and snapped, **_**Well, Seaweed Brain? One of us has to get out of here. **_

**She's right, my dream-self thought. I'm going back to that cavern. I'm going to give Hades a piece of my mind. **

Hades chuckled sarcastically. "Like that little runt would ever be able to do that to me," he chortled.

Nico bit his tongue, refraining from telling his father that Percy _did_ give the god of the dead a piece of his mind.

"Don't call my son a runt," Poseidon told Hades sharply.

**The straitjacket melted off me. I fell through the class-room floor. The teacher's voice changed until it was cold and evil, echoing from the depths of a great chasm. **

_**Percy Jackson**_**, it said. **_**Yes, the exchange went well, I see. **_

"The exchange?" Hera repeated. "What exchange?"

Before anyone could hazard a guess, there was a blinding flash of white light and a resounding crack.

x.o.x.o.x.

A/N: I've decided to cut the chapter in half just so that you could get a chapter, and to insert this little cliffhanger. I really am sorry for the late, late, LATE update! Hopefully the rest of the chapter will be up by next weekend! Have a fantastic weekend!


	18. We Take a Zebra to Vegas Part II

A/N: Here is part two!

x.o.x.o.x.

Everyone stared with bated breath at the spot where the light had appeared. Annabeth felt a tug at her heartstrings, hoping with all her heart that it would be Percy. When no one appeared, several people let out sighs.

"No!" yelled Annabeth. "_Someone_ has to be here! It wouldn't just… just light up like that and not drop anyone off!"

Athena looked troubled, her grey eyes trained on the spot as well. "I agree with my daughter," she said quietly. "The Fates would not do this."

Zeus looked sharply at his daughter. "You're positive that the sisters are behind this gathering, then, Athena?"

"Positive, Father," Athena responded, still not averting her eyes.

Annabeth's brain grabbed wildly for an answer. "They could have appeared anywhere else on Olympus! What if he's lost? _Who is it_?"

"He?" echoed Thalia skeptically, looking at her friend. "I know you pray for it to be Coral Creep, but…"

"But _what_, Thalia?" Annabeth exploded. "I haven't seen him for _months_! Almost a _year_!"

"That may be so, but the Fates won't have your wellbeing in mind, Annabeth," Thalia explained patiently, trying her best not to fuel the fire. "They'll have what's best for this point in the story in mind."

Realizing that the daughter of Zeus was right, Annabeth visibly deflated. "Stupid Fates," she muttered.

"Insulting the sisters is not wise, daughter of wisdom," a chorus of three voices said in perfect unison.

Annabeth jolted upright, her eyes on the three old ladies. "My ladies! I'm- I-"

The Fate on the left held up a hand as the sisters spoke as one, "Do not apologize, Annabeth Chase."

Then the middle Fate stepped forward. "We have come to inform you of when Perseus Jackson, son of Poseidon, will be arriving."

A chorus of gasps was heard from the demigod semicircle, and Poseidon sat at the edge of his throne, wanting to know just as much as his son's friends did. Octavian, of course, sat stonily, no expression visible on his face except contempt.

"Well?" demanded Annabeth. "When will you decided to give me my boyfriend back?"

"Patience, Annabeth Chase," chorused the three sisters together, before the middle Fate stepped back in line. The other two sisters flanking her on both sides now stepped forward and spoke as one.

"The son of the seas shall return to those he loves after the child of wisdom goes to obedience school."

Before anyone could even ask a question as to the cryptic sentence, the white light blinded them again for a split second. When their eyes regained sight, the three sisters were nowhere in sight.

Almost automatically, everyone's, god and demigod (and mortal) alike, eyes turned to Annabeth, clearly thinking of the 'child of wisdom' statement.

"Obedience school?" asked Artemis, raising an eyebrow.

"What makes you think it means me, Lady Artemis?" Annabeth retorted, fighting to keep a respectful tone in her voice. She knew perfectly well that these people- no, _gods_ could set her on fire at any time. But the cryptic words on when her Seaweed Brain would be returned to her had fueled her temper.

Artemis rolled her eyes. "You're the only child of wisdom present, Annabeth Chase. Child of wisdom means, of course, a child of Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, or have you forgotten?"

Annabeth flinched as her memory recalled another time when she was called something similar:

_Wisdom's daughter walks alone._

She shook her head. "Frank, just read, please."

**I was back in the dark cavern, spirits of the dead drifting around me. Unseen in the pit, the monstrous thing was speaking, but this time it wasn't addressing me. The numbing power of its voice seemed directed somewhere else. **

Many of the demigods shivered.

"Dreams," muttered Will.

_**And he suspects nothing?**_** it asked. **

**Another voice, one I almost recognized, answered at my shoulder. **_**Nothing, my lord. He is as ignorant as the rest.**_

"Percy? Ignorant? Never!" gasped Nico sardonically.

Annabeth laughed. "Don't snap at me about defending my boyfriend, Thalia, because, you've gotta admit, that was funny."

Thalia shrugged. "Nico isn't being serious, Annabeth. Athena" – she lowered her voice – "actually meant what she said."

Her friend shifted uncomfortably, but said nothing.

**I looked over, but no one was there. The speaker was invisible. **

"Yankees cap!" cheered Travis.

Annabeth glared at him. "Are you implying that I'm a creepy _thing_ in Percy's dream?"

"Are _you_ implying that you _appear_ in his dreams?" Travis retorted.

_**Deception upon deception**_**, the thing in the pit mused aloud. **_**Excellent.**_

"Deception upon deception?" repeated Athena, and her daughter could almost _see_ the gears whirling.

Annabeth's own mind began to run over the events, realizing again what it meant. Then the three sisters' words rang through her head again. _The son of the seas shall return to those he loves after the child of wisdom goes to obedience school._ Obedience school? In her opinion, she wasn't as big a smart mouth as Percy was, but if the Fates said so…

_**Truly, my lord,**_** said the voice next to me, **_**you are well-named the Crooked One. But was it really necessary? I could have brought you what I stole directly-**_

"Stole?" Athena asked suddenly and loudly.

"Stole," Frank repeated in confirmation.

Athena nodded absently, settling back, her face set into a thoughtful expression.

"It's so concentrated, it seems fake," Connor hissed to his brother, who smirked and nodded in agreement, both being careful to keep their exchange away from the Goddess of Wisdom and her daughter.

_**You?**_** the monster said in scorn. **_**You have already shown your limits. You would have failed me completely had I not intervened.**_

_**But, my lord-**_

_**Peace, little servant. Our six months have bought us much. Zeus's anger has grown. **_

Hera snorted. "His anger can grow? Impossible."

Zeus glared at her. "Respect your superiors, Hera," he snapped.

All of the females present winced. Insulting females was basically the last straw for not only Artemis, but, at times, Hera as well.

"Yes, well, ever heard of the term respect your _elders_, Zeus?" Hera retorted loudly.

Artemis jumped in with, "Don't you dare imply that, just because we are women, we should bow to your every wish, Father."

_**Poseidon has played his most desperate card. **_

"Is Percy my most desperate card?" Poseidon asked, drawing air quotes. Annabeth hesitated, but she nodded slowly. The god snorted. "My son is not a pawn, or a playing piece."

"Good thing he thinks that," Hazel murmured to Frank. "Apparently Gaea doesn't agree."

_**Now we shall use it against him. Shortly you shall have the reward you wish, and your revenge. As soon as both items are delivered into my hands... but wait. He is here.**_

"They didn't drag him there?" Piper asked, surprised.

_**What?**_** The invisible servant suddenly sounded tense. **_**You summoned him, my lord?**_

"Obviously not," Persephone murmured, almost to herself.

_**No.**_** The full force of the monster's attention was now pouring over me, freezing me in place. **_**Blast his father's blood – he is too changeable, too unpredictable. The boy brought himself hither.**_

"Old English!" yelled Travis.

"Terrible! What has the world come to?" Connor added.

"And don't insult my blood!" protested Poseidon defensively.

"You don't have blood," Athena pointed out. "You have ichor."

Poseidon waved it off. "Who cares? It only matters that _Percy_ has blood, and some of it is mine."

"Not really, seeing as you have no DNA," Athena contradicted again.

Poseidon glared. "Lay off, Owl Droppings."

"Can we focus on the fact that Percy brought himself to the cavern?" Hera jumped in.

_**Impossible!**_** the servant cried. **

"Impossible!" Leo mimicked with a high, shrill voice.

The other demigods burst into laughter. Reyna allowed herself a few chuckles, while Octavian sat as stonily as ever. Rachel was also busting a lung.

_**For a weakling such as you, perhaps,**_** the voice snarled. Then its cold power turned back on me. **_**So... you wish to dream of your quest, young half-blood? Then I will oblige. **_

"Oh shoot," murmured Poseidon. "Not good."

"How can you tell? He could dream of unicorns and rainbows!" Apollo told his uncle cheerfully. "Be optimistic, Uncle P!"

Poseidon raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Do _you_ dream of unicorns and rainbows, Apollo?"

The Sun God flushed bright red and didn't answer.

Hermes piped up, "Hey! What's wrong with dreaming about unicorns and rainbows? They're awesome dreams! Plus… if you add butterflies, they're even better!"

**The scene changed. **

**I was standing in a vast throne room with black marble walls and bronze floors. The empty, horrid throne was made from human bones fused together.**

Persephone's eyes widened. "Hades?" she asked, fear clear in her voice as she looked at her husband.

Hades smiled at her. "Don't worry, love. I'm sure nothing bad will happen."

"You better hope," muttered Poseidon darkly.

**Standing at the foot of the dais was my mother, frozen in shimmering golden light, her arms outstretched. **

Annabeth flinched. She had gotten close to Sally in the past months, as they consoled each other on the missing younger Jackson. To have that mental image in her mind was not comforting at all. She felt Thalia lay a hand on her arm in support, and she smiled slightly at her.

**I tried to step toward her, but my legs wouldn't move. I reached for her, only to realize that my hands were withering to bones. Grinning skeletons in Greek armor crowded around me, draping me with silk robes, wreathing my head with laurels that smoked with Chimera poison, burning into my scalp. **

Poseidon and Persephone both raised an eyebrow at Hades.

"Yes, nothing happened, Hades," Persephone said dryly.

"Not my doing!" Hades defended himself. "It's whoever the crazy psycho is!"

**The evil voice began to laugh. **_**Hail, the conquering hero!**_

**I woke with a start. **

**Grover was shaking my shoulder. "The truck's stopped," he said. "We think they're coming to check on the animals."**

"**Hide!" Annabeth hissed. **

"Easier said than done," commented Katie.

The Stoll brothers gasped.

"Crazy!" cried Connor.

"Outrageous!" contributed Travis.

**She had it easy. She just put on her magic cap and disappeared. Grover and I had to dive behind feed sacks and hope we looked like turnips. **

"Just like Zeus looked like a rock?" Poseidon suggested innocently.

Zeus glared at his brother. "What the Hades are you talking about, Poseidon?"

"Why do you think Father didn't eat you, Zeus? It's because you looked like a rock," Poseidon replied. "Why else do you suppose Mother Rhea substituted a rock instead of something else?"

**The trailer doors creaked open. Sunlight and heat poured in. **

"**Man!" one of the truckers said, waving his hand in front of his ugly nose. "I wish I hauled appliances." He climbed inside and poured some water from a jug into the animals' dishes. **

Artemis winced. "Is this going to be one of those annoying zookeepers that care absolutely nothing for the animals they are entrusted to?"

No one answered, except for Frank, who just read on.

"**You hot, big boy?" he asked the lion, then splashed the rest of the bucket right in the lion's face. **

The goddess groaned. "I was correct."

**The lion roared in indignation. **

"I would think he would," commented Demeter. "That man sounds vile. He could use some-"

"Cereal, we know," Octavian snapped. "Shut it, woman."

Demeter's eyes narrowed as her form changed to Ceres.

"Mother," Persephone said quietly, putting a hand on her mother's arm. Taking a deep breath, the goddess switched back to Greek form.

"I'm sorry, Lady Ceres," Octavian apologized, but it sounded more mocking than sincere.

"Octavian," Reyna said to him sternly, "you have been taught better than to disrespect the gods. Without them, we would never be able to survive."

"I know, I know," snapped the augur.

"Don't take that tone with your praetor, Octavian," Jason chastised him.

"_Graceus_," Octavian bit back.

"Octavian!" exclaimed Reyna.

"**Yeah, yeah, yeah," the man said.**

**Next to me, under the turnip sacks, Grover tensed. For a peace-loving herbivore, he looked downright murderous. **

**The trucker threw the antelope a squashed-looking Happy Meal bag. He smirked at the zebra. "How ya doin', Stripes? Least we'll be getting rid of you this stop. You like magic shows? You're gonna love this one. They're gonna saw you in half!"**

Artemis gritted her teeth, as did Thalia. "Cruel," Thalia spat out.

Most of the Greeks winced, thinking about what Grover's reaction would be if he had had to reread about that part.

**The zebra, wild-eyed with fear, looked straight at me. **

**There was no sound, but as clear as day, I heard it say: **_**Free me,**__**lord. Please.**_

"He can speak to zebras?" Frank asked incredulously, interrupting his reading.

"Please," Hazel said. "You can _turn_ into a zebra."

Frank flushed and read further to bring the curious attention off of him.

**I was too stunned to react. **

**There was a loud **_**knock, knock, knock**_** on the side of the trailer. **

**The trucker inside with us yelled, "What do you want, Eddie?"**

**A voice outside – it must've been Eddie's – shouted back, "Maurice? What'd ya say?"**

"**What are you banging for?"**

_**Knock, knock, knock.**_

**Outside, Eddie yelled, "What banging?"**

"Annabeth," Thalia said knowingly.

Nico looked at her weirdly.

"What?"

"It's usually Annabeth or Athena who figures stuff like that out," Nico reminded her.

Thalia rolled her eyes. "Are you saying I have a low IQ?" When Nico didn't say anything, she snapped, "Okay, don't answer."

**Our guy Maurice rolled his eyes and went back outside, cursing at Eddie for being an idiot. **

**A second later, Annabeth appeared next to me. She must've done the banging to get Maurice out of the trailer. She said, "This transport business can't be legal."**

"It probably isn't," Hephaestus replied darkly.

"**No kidding," Grover said. He paused, as if listening. "The lion says these guys are animal smugglers!"**

_**That's right**_**, the zebra's voice said in my mind. **

"Can't doubt the word of the zebra!" Leo cried.

"**We've got to free them!" Grover said. He and Annabeth both looked at me, waiting for my lead. **

Rachel laughed. "His lead? Are you on a suicide mission?"

With a completely straight face, Annabeth responded, "I was under the impression that we were."

**I'd heard the zebra talk, but not the lion. Why? Maybe it was another learning disability... **

"Disability?" repeated Aphrodite. "Oh, the poor dear! Disabilities are terrible!"

All the demigods (yes, even Octavian) glared at her. "We happen to have dyslexia and ADHD, Lady Aphrodite," Katie reminded her stiffly.

**I could only understand zebras? Then I thought: horses. What had Annabeth said about Poseidon creating horses? Was a zebra close enough to a horse? Was that why I could understand it?**

"Probably," Apollo replied, shrugging.

**The zebra said, **_**Open my cage, lord. Please. I'll be fine after that.**_

"Guilt trip!" cheered Travis and Connor together. "Best trick in the book," Travis added.

"I don't know about that, brother," Connor replied. "What about-"

Piper cut them off before they could get too far with a, "Okay, okay. Frank, read."

**Outside, Eddie and Maurice were still yelling at each other, but I knew they'd be coming inside to torment the animals again any minute. I grabbed Riptide and slashed the lock off the zebra's cage. **

"Multi-talented," Poseidon bragged, grinning.

"Multi-talented my owl," muttered Athena.

Poseidon, hearing, smirked. "Willing to bet such a _valuable_ item?"

**The zebra burst out. It turned to me and bowed. **_**Thank you, lord.**_

"That's unfair," muttered Frank, still a little bitter.

Hazel rolled her eyes, slapping him on the back of the head. "Come on, Frank, read. And get over it; you can _turn into_ one, like I _just_ said!"

"Okay, okay, jeez!"

**Grover held up his hands and said something to the zebra in goat talk, like a blessing. **

"Goat blessing," Rachel repeated, eyebrows arched in question.

With a straight face, the Stoll brothers replied in unison, "Goat blessing."

**Just as Maurice was poking his head back inside to check out the noise, the zebra leaped over him and into the street. There was yelling and screaming and cars honking. We rushed to the doors of the trailer in time to see the zebra galloping down a wide boulevard lined with hotels and casinos and neon signs. **

Realizing what that meant, both Frank and Leo burst into laughter, Frank nearly dropping the book.

"Frank!" yelled Hazel, over their loud laughter.

"Leo!" yelled Piper, with the same goal.

"_Be quiet_!" screamed Annabeth, and they silenced, looking at her in fear. She glared at them. "Read on, Frank! If we finish this chapter, it'll be one chapter closer to when Percy arrives… I hope."

Slightly afraid of the angry daughter of Athena, Frank obeyed.

**We'd just released a zebra in Las Vegas. **

"I don't blame them for laughing," Apollo remarked. When his sister _and_ Annabeth glared at him, he held up his hands in surrender. "It's not every day you see a shot of black and white go past you after getting drunk and playing away all your money."

"Not everyone does that, Apollo," Hermes told his half-brother seriously.

Apollo gaped at him. "What are you _saying_, Hermes? Are you fading on us? NOOOOOOOOOO!"

Hermes rolled his eyes. "Apollo, I _do_ get wasted in Vegas. But kids don't."

"I knew that," Apollo replied quickly.

**Maurice and Eddie ran after it, with a few policemen running after them, shouting, "Hey! You need a permit for that!"**

"Busted!" shouted Travis gleefully.

"**Now would be a good time to leave," Annabeth said. **

"Possibly," Connor replied. "Just possibly."

"**The other animals first," Grover said. **

**I cut the locks with my sword. Grover raised his hands and spoke the same goat-blessing he'd used for the zebra. **

"**Good luck," I told the animals. The antelope and the lion burst out of their cages and went off together into the streets. **

**Some tourists screamed. Most just backed off and took pictures, probably thinking it was some kind of stunt by one of the casinos. **

"Yeah, that's a likely explanation," remarked

"**Will the animals be okay?" I asked Grover. "I mean, the desert and all-"**

Almost everyone looked at Artemis for her reaction.

Grudgingly, the goddess said, "I suppose he isn't as bad as other males."

"**Don't worry," he said. "I placed a satyr's sanctuary on them."**

"**Meaning?"**

"**Meaning they'll reach the wild safely," he said. "They'll find water, food, shade, whatever they need until they find a safe place to live."**

"**Why can't you place a blessing like that on us?" I asked. **

"It only works on wild animals, of course," Athena replied.

"**It only works on wild animals."**

"She thinks like a goat," Connor hissed to his brother, who had to suppress a snort.

"**So it would only affect Percy," Annabeth reasoned. **

Athena smiled. "Very good, girl!"

Annabeth scowled deeply. "I'm not a _dog_, Mother."

"I don't know, you _are_ supposed to be going to obedience school," Travis teased her.

In a matter of seconds, her blade was at his throat, applying gentle pressure.

"Sorry!" Travis squeaked.

"**Hey!" I protested. **

"**Kidding," she said. "Come on. Let's get out of this filthy truck."**

**We stumbled out into the desert afternoon. It was a hundred and ten degrees, easy, and we must've looked like deep-fried vagrants, but everybody was too interested in the wild animals to pay us much attention. **

"I don't know. Vagrants seem more interesting than wild animals…" Leo remarked, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "…What are vagrants?"

"Like a tramp, hobo, or homeless person, etc.," Annabeth replied automatically.

**We passed the Monte Carlo and the MGM. We passed pyramids, a pirate ship, and the Statue of Liberty, which was a pretty small replica, but still made me homesick. **

"Crybaby," muttered Ares.

"Crybaby punk," agreed Clarisse.

"He's not even crying, you idiots," Poseidon snapped.

**I wasn't sure what we were looking for. Maybe just a place to get out of the heat for a few minutes, find a sandwich and a glass of lemonade, make a new plan for getting west. **

**We must have taken a wrong turn, because we found ourselves at a dead end, standing in front of the Lotus Hotel and Casino. **

Many of the deities sat straight up, looking alarmed.

"You're not going in there, are you?" Persephone demanded anxiously.

Annabeth winced. "Maybe," she replied neutrally.

Hades flinched as well. Bad memories were involved with that place, and seeing his son's expression, he knew his son felt the same.

**The entrance was a huge neon flower, the petals lighting up and blinking. **

"So utterly Vegas," sighed Hermes nostalgically.

"Only place that has good parties in this place," agreed Dionysus.

**No one was going in or out, but the glittering chrome doors were open, spilling out air-conditioning that smelled like flowers – lotus blossom, maybe. I'd never smelled one, so I wasn't sure. **

"Lotus blossom smells wonderful," Aphrodite sighed.

Annabeth and Thalia and Piper and Reyna rolled their eyes.

**The doorman smiled at us. "Hey, kids. You look tired. You want to come in and sit down?"**

"They'll find this suspicious and leave," Demeter speculated almost desperately.

"With Percy in the trio? Never," Katie told her mother in amusement.

**I'd learned to be suspicious, the last week or so. I figured anybody might be a monster or a god. You just couldn't tell. But this guy was normal. One look at him, and I could see. Besides, I was so relieved to hear somebody who sounded sympathetic that I nodded and said we'd love to come in. **

Persephone cringed. "Perfectly normal, all right." She looked at Annabeth. "Why didn't you object?"

"I was tired too!" Annabeth defended herself.

**Inside, we took one look around, and Grover said, "Whoa."**

**The whole lobby was a giant game room. And I'm not talking about cheesy old Pac-Man games or slot machines. There was an indoor waterslide snaking around the glass elevator, which went straight up at least forty floors. **

"Waterslide!" cheered Poseidon.

"Pac-Man is boring," Dionysus said.

"You play it anyway," Apollo pointed out.

**There was a climbing wall on the side of one building, and an indoor bungee-jumping bridge. There were virtual-reality suits with working laser guns. And hundreds of video games, each one the size of a widescreen TV. **

"TVs are fascinating creations," Hephaestus told the group, nodding.

"Who cares about the TVs?" exclaimed Hermes. "The games is where it's at, bro!"

"That's incorrect grammar, Hermes," Athena informed him stiffly.

**Basically, you name it, this place had it. There were a few other kids playing, but not that many. No waiting for any of the games. There were waitresses and snack bars all around, serving every kind of food you can imagine. **

"Chocolate!" squealed Apollo.

"Did you just _squeal_, Dad?" asked Will in disbelief.

"I sure did, son!"

Will visibly shuddered. "I don't know him," he hissed to his friends, pointing at the crazed sun god.

"Ha ha! Get it? SON?" the god was asking, slapping his thigh. "I crack myself up!"

"**Hey!" a bellhop said. At least I guessed he was a bellhop. He wore a white-and-yellow Hawaiian shirt with lotus designs, shorts, and flip-flops. "Welcome to the Lotus Casino. Here's your room key."**

"They'll have to find _that_ suspicious," Hera said. "What adult in their right mind would give a trio of preteens a room key to a casino's hotel? This place is messed up. They should get out of there at once."

"Maybe there'll be good action!" Ares said to his mother. "Don't be so pessimistic, Mother!"

**I stammered, "Um, but... "**

"**No, no," he said, laughing. "The bill's taken care of. No extra charges, no tips. Just go on up to the top floor, room 4001. **

"Top floor too? _Awesome_, dude!" yelled Leo.

"You're so stupid!" Piper snapped, slapping him on the back of the head. "Percy and Annabeth and Grover are in trouble!"

**If you need anything, like extra bubbles for the hot tub, or skeet targets for the shooting range, or whatever, just call the front desk. Here are your LotusCash cards. They work in the restaurants and on all the games and rides."**

"Free… credit… card?!" shrieked Travis and Connor together.

"Stop shrieking," Thalia told them. "It's kind of creepy… _girls_."

**He handed us each a green plastic credit card. **

**I knew there must be some mistake. Obviously he thought we were some millionaire's kids. But I took the card and said, "How much is on here?"**

"Good question, Perce!" shouted Travis, bouncing up and down on his seat. "Tell the man already, stupid bellhop!"

"Man?" Reyna repeated, eyebrows raised. "Percy was twelve at the time, Mr. Stoll."

"Formalities!" cried Connor, shivering. "And he's a man now, praetor!"

**His eyebrows knit together. "What do you mean?"**

"**I mean, when does it run out of cash?"**

**He laughed. "Oh, you're making a joke. Hey, that's cool. Enjoy your stay."**

Travis, Connor, and Leo were speechless.

"A _joke_?" repeated Apollo hoarsely.

"Its value is _infinite_?" added Hermes disbelievingly.

"AWESOME!" all five screamed as one.

**We took the elevator upstairs and checked out our room. It was a suite with three separate bedrooms and a bar stocked with candy, sodas, and chips. **

"Candy!"

"Sodas!"

"Chips!"

Three guesses who said that.

**A hotline to room service. Fluffy towels and water beds with feather pillows. **

"Hypnos would like those," commented Hestia with a smile.

**A big-screen television with satellite and high-speed Internet. The balcony had its own hot tub, and sure enough, there was a skeet-shooting machine and a shotgun, so you could launch clay pigeons right out over the Las Vegas skyline and plug them with your gun. I didn't see how that could be legal, but I thought it was pretty cool. **

"It probably is illegal," Athena remarked.

"Who cares? It's _Vegas_!" Apollo screamed at her.

**The view over the Strip and the desert was amazing, though I doubted we'd ever find time to look at the view with a room like this.**

"I'd be in the lobby and in my room _all freaking day long_!" shouted Connor.

"**Oh, goodness," Annabeth said. "This place is..."**

"**Sweet," Grover said. "Absolutely sweet."**

**There were clothes in the closet, and they fit me. I frowned, thinking that this was a little strange. **

"He's the first to suspect something?" Nico asked skeptically.

"I suspected something earlier," Annabeth said quickly.

"Sure…."

**I threw Ares's backpack in the trash can. Wouldn't need that anymore. When we left, I could just charge a new one at the hotel store. **

"Ungrateful little brat," muttered Ares.

"You sound like Dionysus," Hades told him.

**I took a shower, which felt awesome after a week of grimy travel. I changed clothes, ate a bag of chips, drank three Cokes, **

"Three Cokes?" Demeter gasped indignantly. "A bag of chips? That's outrageous!"

**and came out feeling better than I had in a long time. In the back of my mind, some small problem kept nagging me. I'd had a dream or something... I needed to talk to my friends. But I was sure it could wait.**

"The magic of the place is getting to him already," commented Artemis.

"Indeed," agreed Persephone, looking mildly worried.

**I came out of the bedroom and found that Annabeth and Grover had also showered and changed clothes. Grover was eating potato chips to his heart's content, while Annabeth cranked up the National Geographic Channel. **

"National Geographic? That's boring," Travis told Annabeth.

Annabeth looked scandalized. "What are you talking about? It's absolutely fascinating!"

"**All those stations," I told her, "and you turn on National Geographic. Are you insane?"**

"See? Perce agrees!" Travis shouted, pointing at the book in Frank's hand.

"**It's interesting."**

"And my past self agrees with _me_," Annabeth told him triumphantly.

"**I feel good," Grover said. "I love this place."**

**Without his even realizing it, the wings sprouted out of his shoes and lifted him a foot off the ground, then back down again. **

"Happiness can do that," Hermes nodded, grinning.

"**So what now?" Annabeth asked. "Sleep?"**

"Are you crazy?" chorused guess-who.

**Grover and I looked at each other and grinned. We both held up our green plastic LotusCash cards. **

"**Play time," I said.**

**I couldn't remember the last time I had so much fun. I came from a relatively poor family. **

"And after this, Poseidon will get all guilty," Hera whispered to Hestia, who nodded and smiled. Her brother really did have a good heart.

**Our idea of a splurge was eating out at Burger King and renting a video. A five-star Vegas hotel? Forget it. **

Sure enough, Poseidon was wincing. "If I could have helped them out…" He trailed off, but Annabeth finished his sentence for him.

"Sally never would have taken it."

**I bungee-jumped the lobby five or six times, did the waterslide, snowboarded the artificial ski slope, and played virtual-reality laser tag and FBI sharpshooter. I saw Grover a few times, going from game to game. He really liked the reverse hunter thing – where the deer go out and shoot the rednecks. I saw Annabeth playing trivia games and other brainiac stuff. **

"Even at a casino like this one?" Thalia asked in almost disbelief. Then she smiled. "I'm glad you did, because that's who you are."

Annabeth smiled in return.

**They had this huge 3-D sim game where you build your own city, and you could actually see the holographic buildings rise on the display board. I didn't think much of it, but Annabeth loved it. **

"Architect gravitational pull," Rachel said knowingly.

Annabeth laughed. "Is that a real thing, Rachel?"

"Yes," Rachel replied too quickly.

**I'm not sure when I first realized something was wrong. **

**Probably, it was when I noticed the guy standing next to me at VR sharpshooters. He was about thirteen, I guess, but his clothes were weird. I thought he was some Elvis impersonator's son. He wore bell-bottom jeans and a red T-shirt with black piping, and his hair was permed and gelled like a New Jersey girl's on homecoming night.**

"Amazing comparison," snorted Connor.

"Do you know what a New Jersey girl's hair looks like on homecoming night?" Nico asked him.

"No…"

**We played a game of sharpshooters together and he said, "Groovy, man. **

"Groovy?" Leo asked, and Frank looked up from the book, equally baffled.

"It means… well, basically, good," Hazel replied almost unconsciously.

**Been here two weeks, and the games keep getting better and better."**

_**Groovy?**_

**Later, while we were talking, I said something was "sick," and he looked at me kind of startled, as if he'd never heard the word used that way before. **

"That's weird," Reyna remarked slowly, her brain working.

Annabeth looked at her almost admiringly. To be honest, Reyna could have been a child of Athena, or Minerva.

**He said his name was Darrin, but as soon as I started asking him questions he got bored with me and started to go back to the computer screen. **

**I said, "Hey, Darrin?"**

"**What?"**

"**What year is it?"**

"Did the room not come with a calendar or something?" Athena questioned dryly.

"He's trying to figure something out, Mother," Annabeth snapped.

**He frowned at me. "In the game?"**

"**No. In real life."**

**He had to think about it. "1977."**

"1977?" gasped Hazel. "But… but…"

"Impossible," finished Frank, looking at the book.

"Don't worry, you read it right," Annabeth assured him.

"How can someone look like a thirteen-year-old when they were thirteen years old in nineteen-ninety-seven?"

"Just keep reading," Annabeth replied.

"**No," I said, getting a little scared. "Really."**

"**Hey, man. Bad vibes. I got a game happening."**

"_Bad vibes_?" Connor repeated. "Man, there sure were funny sayings back then."

**After that he totally ignored me. **

**I started talking to people, and I found it wasn't easy. They were glued to the TV screen, or the video game, or their food, or whatever. **

"The power of the casino," nodded Apollo.

**I found a guy who told me it was 1985. Another guy told me it was 1993. They all claimed they hadn't been in here very long, a few days, a few weeks at most. They didn't really know and they didn't care. **

**Then it occurred to me: how long had I been here? It seemed like only a couple of hours, but was it?**

"Oh no! What if they've blown away a year or two?" asked Persephone.

"Don't hyperventilate, dear," Demeter soothed her.

Persephone scowled. "I wasn't about to hyperventilate, dear Mother."

**I tried to remember why we were here. We were going to Los Angeles. We were supposed to find the entrance to the Underworld. My mother... for a scary second, I had trouble remembering her name. **

Rachel's eyes widened. She had heard some stories about the first quest Annabeth and Percy had been on, but she didn't know it was _this_ serious. "He almost forgot his mom's name?"

Annabeth nodded. "I forgot _my_ mom's name, and my dad's, and my stepmother's, and even my stepbrothers'."

**Sally. Sally Jackson. I had to find her. I had to stop Hades from causing World War III. **

"I'm not going to cause World War III," Hades grumbled in annoyance.

**I found Annabeth still building her city. **

"**Come on," I told her. "We've got to get out of here."**

**No response. **

Poseidon groaned. "Now who has the silly child, Owl Droppings?"

"You," Athena retorted.

"Invalid argument," Poseidon replied.

"Children!" snapped Zeus.

"I'm not a child!" Poseidon returned, offended.

"You're acting like one," Hera snapped.

**I shook her. "Annabeth?"**

**She looked up, annoyed. "What?"**

"**We need to leave."**

"**Leave? What are you talking about? I've just got the towers-"**

"Who the Hades cares about towers?" asked Thalia. "Annabeth, you're on a quest trying to save the world!"

"Not the first time," Annabeth mumbled.

"**This place is a trap."**

**She didn't respond until I shook her again. "What?"**

"**Listen. The Underworld. Our quest!"**

"Not going to work!" sang Nico.

"You Greeks are so stupid," muttered Octavian. "Can't even see a trap when it slaps you in the face!"

"_Octavian_!"

"**Oh, come on, Percy. Just a few more minutes."**

"**Annabeth, there are people here from 1977. Kids who have never aged. You check in, and you stay forever."**

"**So?" she asked. "Can you imagine a better place?"**

"The library?" suggested Will innocently.

Annabeth glared at him.

**I grabbed her wrist and yanked her away from the game. **

"**Hey!" She screamed and hit me, but nobody else even bothered looking at us. They were too busy. **

"Child abuse and no one cared," sighed Annabeth dramatically.

"That was pretty good," Thalia commented admiringly.

**I made her look directly in my eyes. I said, "Spiders. Large, hairy spiders."**

Nico laughed. "_That_ will work."

**That jarred her. Her vision cleared."Oh my gods," she said. "How long have we-"**

"See?"

"No one argued, Nicks."

"Don't call me Nicks! It sounds like Vicks!"

"Vicks?"

"Medicine?"

"Oh."

"**I don't know, but we've got to find Grover."**

**We went searching, and found him still playing Virtual Deer Hunter.**

"We should buy that game for him," volunteered Rachel.

"No. No video game like _that_ will be present at my camp," snapped Dionysus.

"Your camp? More like Chiron's camp," Jason retorted.

"No," Piper spoke up quietly, "it's _our_ camp."

"**Grover!" we both shouted. **

**He said, "Die, human! Die, silly polluting nasty person!"**

"What a pleasant greeting," remarked Artemis sarcastically.

"**Grover!"**

**He turned the plastic gun on me and started clicking, as if I were just another image from the screen. **

"How loving!" shouted Apollo.

"Yeah, Grover's such a cuddly satyr," muttered Annabeth.

**I looked at Annabeth, and together we took Grover by the arms and dragged him away. His flying shoes sprang to life and started tugging his legs in the other direction as he shouted, "No! I just got to a new level! No!"**

"To save the world!"

"Not exactly."

"Oh."

**The Lotus bellhop hurried up to us. "Well, now, are you ready for your platinum cards?"**

"Platinum cards?" repeated Reyna, amazed. "There's a whole different level of cards? How do you get the next one?"

"**We're leaving," I told him. **

"**Such a shame," he said, and I got the feeling that he really meant it, that we'd be breaking his heart if we went. "We just added an entire new floor full of games for platinum-card members."**

"One day, it'll be a thousand floors tall, just to accommodate the number of people living there," commented Hera.

"Maybe the floors just add themselves magically," Athena guessed. "It's fascinating, really."

**He held out the cards, and I wanted one. I knew that if I took one, I'd never leave. I'd stay here, happy forever, playing games forever, and soon I'd forget my mom, and my quest, and maybe even my own name. I'd be playing virtual rifleman with groovy Disco Darrin forever.**

"Sounds appealing," commented Frank absently, before returning to the printed words.

**Grover reached for the card, but Annabeth yanked back his arm and said, "No, thanks."**

"At least she's got a clear mind now," Athena told Poseidon, who just rolled his eyes and refrained from answering.

_I'm right here,_ Annabeth felt like screaming, but she, too, refrained.

**We walked toward the door, and as we did, the smell of the food and the sounds of the games seemed to get more and more inviting. I thought about our room upstairs. We could just stay the night, sleep in a real bed for once... **

"LEAVE!" shouted Hera so loudly, everyone jumped.

Apollo and Hermes looked at her in grudging admiration.

"You can yell?" Hermes asked his stepmother innocently.

Hera growled at him.

"Feisty!"

Another growl.

**Then we burst through the doors of the Lotus Casino and ran down the sidewalk. It felt like afternoon, about the same time of day we'd gone into the casino, but something was wrong. The weather had completely changed. It was stormy, with heat lightning flashing out in the desert. **

"I'm mad again," Zeus observed in obvious satisfaction.

"What a surprise," Dionysus said dryly.

Zeus glared at him. "Do you wish for me to extend your punishment, Dionysus?"

"No, Father."

**Ares's backpack was slung over my shoulder, which was odd, because I was sure I had thrown it in the trash can in room 4001, but at the moment I had other problems to worry about. **

"Definitely," Poseidon agreed. "Check a newspaper or one of those fancy clocks."

**I ran to the nearest newspaper stand and read the year first. Thank the gods, it was the same year it had been when we went in. **

There were audible sighs of pure relief.

**Then I noticed the date: June twentieth. **

And the sighs turned to gasps.

"The day before the summer solstice," whispered Reyna, her eyes wide.

**We had been in the Lotus Casino for five days. **

**We had only one day left until the summer solstice. One day to complete our quest. **

"Dramatic," Connor observed, trying to break the tension. "And at least they weren't years late."

Needless to say, it didn't work.

No one spoke. Finally, in a minute, Hephaestus held out his hands, and Frank gave the book to him. Except for the rustling of pages as the blacksmith god turned to the next chapter, it was silent, everyone, even Zeus and Octavian, wondering exactly how the trio was going to save the world on time.

x.o.x.o.x.

A/N: Just as I promised! I hope you enjoyed! AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BRINGING ME PAST _300 REVIEWS_! I AM SO HAPPY! Thank you so much!


	19. We Shop for Water Beds

A/N: Here's the next chapter! _Very_ late, I know!

x.o.x.o.x

**We Shop for Waterbeds**, began Hephaestus.

"And continuing with the crazy chapter titles," Leo announced.

"Of course," Travis replied.

"What else do you expect of Percy Jackson?" finished Connor.

**It was Annabeth's idea. **

**She loaded us into the back of a Vegas taxi as if we actually had money, and told the driver, "Los Angeles, please."**

"You're going to hitch a ride in a cab to _Los Angeles _from Las Vegas?" demanded Poseidon. "Are you crazy?"

Annabeth just smiled. "Trust me, Lord Poseidon."

**The cabbie chewed his cigar and sized us up. "That's three hundred miles. For that, you gotta pay up front."**

"Sometimes I think that's unfair," commented Hera. "What if the taxi driver just stopped in the middle or three-fourths of the way there and made you get out?"

Katie smiled. "I daresay we have an edge over common everyday cabbies, Lady Hera. We _are_, after all, demigods with special training."

"Don't go insulting mortals, Katie," Rachel warned good-naturedly, a smile on her face.

The daughter of Demeter grinned in response. "I'm not insulting mortals, Rachel. I'm just stating the truth."

"Fair enough," Rachel allowed. "And I'm not exactly an ordinary mortal anymore, am I? Not with the spirit of Delphi housed in me."

"That spirit is the best!" cheered Apollo.

**"You accept casino debit cards?" Annabeth asked. **

Understanding her daughter's plan, Athena smiled slightly at the girl, willing to step on the path to a truce. "Very good idea, Annabeth."

Her partial forgiveness was based mostly on the fact that her mother called her by her given name instead of the proper title. "Thank you, Mother." Her voice, however, came out stiff, just not as stiff as before.

**He shrugged. "Some of 'em. Same as credit cards. I gotta swipe 'em through first. "**

**Annabeth handed him her green LotusCash card. **

**He looked at it skeptically. **

"I would imagine," Hestia remarked. "It isn't every day a twelve-year-old demigod hands you a green plastic card."

Hermes grinned wolfishly. "Let's just hope he didn't _know_ about her demigod status."

"Status?" repeated Annabeth with an arched eyebrow.

"**Swipe it," Annabeth invited. **

**He did.**

**His meter machine started rattling. The lights flashed. Finally an infinity symbol came up next to the dollar sign. **

"That sounds about right," Persephone said. "After all, if you are to stay in the Lotus Hotel and Casino for eternity, shouldn't you have infinity amount of money to spend?"

Artemis had to fight to keep a smile concealed. "I wonder how they'll claim their change?"

"As long as they hold onto that card, they're rich!" Dionysus observed. "Maybe, if they give me some, I'll lay off them a little, give them some slack." His father gave him a look, and he backtracked quickly. "Not that I'm mistreating them or anything."

**The cigar fell out of the driver's mouth. He looked back at us, his eyes wide. "Where to in Los Angeles... uh, Your Highness?"**

Athena pressed her lips together to stifle her own smile. "Your Highness?" she repeated.

"That's what it says here," clarified Hephaestus.

Piper tapped her chin thoughtfully. "That's not a bad idea. Demigods should be called 'Your Highness'."

"Just because of your heritage?" Hera asked, affronted. "Family is much more than just a title, daughter of Aphrodite."

"Trust me, I know," muttered Piper.

"Because you know a whole lot about family," Ares mumbled under his breath, wishing to take out any kind of weapon and attempt to cut off his mother's inflated head.

**"The Santa Monica Pier." Annabeth sat up a little straighter. I could tell she liked the "Your Highness" thing. "Get us there fast, and you can keep the change."**

"It's not like she could get her change back," commented Hades, his black eyes shining with mild amusement.

**Maybe she shouldn't have told him that. The cab's speedometer never dipped below ninety-five the whole way through the Mojave Desert. **

"Is that safe?" Hestia asked, her gentle eyes betraying worry.

Jason smiled at the welcoming goddess. "Of course, Lady Vesta, don't worry. Although that _is_ slightly high. Normal speeds rarely exceed eighty."

Hazel glared at her former praetor. "Don't worry Lady Vesta too much, Jason."

Hestia smiled at the pair in her Roman equivalent. "You are kind to be concerned, daughter of Pluto." Then she switched back before rubbing her temples in near irritation. "The flickering Roman and Greek forms make my head ache. And the thoughts exuding from you all don't help."

The demigods all looked away guiltily, even Octavian, because even _he_ wasn't stupid enough to be disrespectful to a goddess.

**On the road, we had plenty of time to talk. I told Annabeth and Grover about my latest dream, but the details got sketchier the more I tried to remember them. The Lotus Casino seemed to have short-circuited my memory. **

"Stupid casino," cursed Hades. "I was hoping for this chance to prove that I am _not_ the culprit."

"Yet you seem the most likely one," Zeus pointed out, gripping his bolt tighter. "I always knew you were jealous."

Hades gritted his teeth. "Zeus, you-"

Persephone jumped up and laid a hand on her husband's arm, silently signaling him to shut the Hades up.

He glared at her. "I will _not_."

"You can read my mind?"

"No, not usually, but if you use my name, then yes," Hades growled back, jerking his arm away and sulking into his chair.

Persephone, affronted, returned to her seat and braced herself for her mother's sure reprimands for marrying the god.

**I couldn't recall what the invisible servant's voice had sounded like, though I was sure it was somebody I knew. The servant had called the monster in the pit something other than "my lord"... some special name or title... **

"Great. Now the insolent daughter of Athena will list nicknames of mine just to prove her point," Hades grumbled.

Annabeth looked offended. "Excuse me, Lord Hades? I'm sitting right here."

**"The Silent One?" Annabeth suggested. "The Rich One? Both of those are nicknames for Hades."**

Hades raised an eyebrow at Annabeth, who flushed.

"Can you read her mind, Lord Hades?" asked Frank, sounding innocently incredulous.

The god switched his sour look to the son of Mars. "I cannot, I assure you, son of Mars. I simply know the ways of children of Athena."

Reyna looked thoughtful. "I always wondered why Athena had children. Didn't you take a vow of eternal virginity, my lady?"

Before her mother could reply, Annabeth injected, "That's a long and complicated story, Reyna. Perhaps during another break or mealtime."

**"Maybe..." I said, though neither sounded quite right. **

**"That throne room sounds like Hades's," Grover said. "That's the way it's usually described."**

"So the satyr is also against me?" Hades guessed.

"What do you think? You sent the worst monsters of the Underworld up against us right when we were on the threshold of Camp Half-Blood, Lord Hades. Of course he wouldn't be on your side. He resented you," Thalia told him.

Hades rolled his eyes. "Since that's a reasonable argument, I won't blast him to pieces."

"You nearly did," muttered Nico to himself.

**I shook my head. "Something's wrong. The throne room wasn't the main part of the dream. And that voice from the pit... I don't know. It just didn't feel like a god's voice."**

That statement alone sent Athena's mind into overdrive. She knew enough to not deny the child's instinct. So if it wasn't a god, who _was_ it?

"And Thals?" Nico asked.

"Yes, Nico?"

"I think you would know by now that those weren't nearly as bad as some monsters that have been emerging."

Thalia blanched. "True."

**"But if I'd already retrieved the bolt," I said, "why would I be traveling to the Underworld?"**

"That is a very good point," observed Athena, her mind still whirling for an answer.

**"To threaten Hades," Grover suggested. "To bribe or blackmail him into getting your mom back."**

**I whistled. "You have evil thoughts for a goat."**

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?" asked Apollo.

**"Why, thank you."**

"Apparently," Will answered his father.

"**But the thing in the pit said it was waiting for two items," I said. "If the master bolt is one, what's the other?"**

"Him?" suggested Artemis.

Athena's eyes lit up, and Annabeth flinched. They were sure to be in trouble if her mother had figured it out. "Deception upon deception! I get it now!"

Annabeth frantically warned, "Don't say anything, Mother! It's part of the story! They must figure it out on their own time!"

Athena grinned. "You won't have to worry about that, daughter. But, oh, if it were for the greater good, what a _brilliant_ plan!"

**Grover shook his head, clearly mystified. **

**Annabeth was looking at me as if she knew my next question, and was silently willing me not to ask it. **

**"You have an idea what might be in that pit, don't you?" I asked her. "I mean, if it isn't Hades?"**

"It's ironic that the only person who might _possibly_ think that I'm not the thief is my _wonderful_ nephew," Hades commented dryly.

"At least _someone_ believes you," Poseidon pointed out. "And my son's opinion is priceless."

"Pricelessly _bad_," Zeus mumbled.

**"Percy... let's not talk about it. Because if it isn't Hades... no. It has to be Hades."**

"The day has come when a child of Poseidon is smarter than a child of Athena! What has the world come to?" Hades asked, shooting his niece a triumphant look.

Athena scowled. "If you recall, Lord Hades, _I_ have figured the plan out, while the rest of _you_ are still in the dark. My children are infinitely more wise and observant than Barnacle Brain's ever will be," she replied primly.

"Yet my son seems to have outsmarted your daughter in this case," Poseidon pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

Again, the wisdom goddess scowled, but her daughter said, "As much as I hate to admit it, Percy can be a Seaweed Brain most of the time, but he has outsmarted me several times. On pure impulse, of course."

**Wasteland rolled by. We passed a sign that said CALIFORNIA STATE LINE, 12 MILES. **

"Wow. That cabbie sure is earning his money," Apollo remarked.

**I got the feeling I was missing one simple, critical piece of information. It was like when I stared at a common word I should know, but I couldn't make sense of it because one or two letters were floating around. The more I thought about my quest, the more I was sure that confronting Hades wasn't the real answer. **

"That's right! It isn't," agreed Hades.

Persephone smirked. "Could that be because I wouldn't be there to calm you down, my lord? And prevent you from blowing up the Underworld and possibly Los Angeles while you're at it?"

Hades smiled at her. "Quite possibly, my love, but do you not have faith in me?"

"All the faith in the world," promised Persephone, but there was a teasing glint in her eye.

Demeter gagged. "You both need a healthy dose of cereal to calm your nerves!"

"Nerves?" both deities demanded as one.

"Fine, emotions. You're much too close together!"

"Mother, we're _married_," Persephone reminded her.

**There was something else going on, something even more dangerous. **

**The problem was: we were hurtling toward the Underworld at ninety-five miles an hour, betting that Hades had the master bolt. **

"Which I don't," interjected Hades.

"Excuse me for saying this, Lord Hades, but I _think_ that we may have gotten the point by now," said Artemis, raising an eyebrow. "After all, it isn't as if you've been grumbling about it for the majority of the book."

Hades simply scowled in response.

**If we got there and found out we were wrong, we wouldn't have time to correct ourselves. The solstice deadline would pass and war would begin.**

Ares's eyes glinted. "War," he repeated dreamily. "I hope they're wrong."

Athena snorted, muttering to herself, "You _would_ want war, even under deception."

No one, thankfully, heard her.

**"The answer is in the Underworld," Annabeth assured me. "You saw spirits of the dead, Percy. There's only one place that could be. We're doing the right thing."**

Hades shook his head sadly. "Your children seem to losing their touch, dear niece."

Athena scowled now. "My children will _never_ lose their touch, Lord Hades."

Annabeth grumbled, "I _am_ sitting right here, you know."

The death god just shrugged. "You're being incredibly stupid at the moment. In the book, that is."

"You're saying that she isn't in real life?" asked Leo innocently.

Eyeing Annabeth, Travis whispered to the son of Hephaestus, "Er… do you have a death wish or something?"

Leo gulped.

**She tried to boost our morale by suggesting clever strategies for getting into the Land of the Dead, but my heart wasn't in it. **

"And you were saying about losing their touch?" Athena asked Hades, an eyebrow arched.

**There were just too many unknown factors. It was like cramming for a test without knowing the subject. And believe me, I'd done that enough times.**

"That's not a good idea," Athena said disapprovingly, and her daughter nodded in agreement. She had tried multiple times to drill good study skills into her Seaweed Brain, but, needless to say, none ever worked.

**The cab sped west. Every gust of wind through Death Valley sounded like a spirit of the dead. Every time the brakes hissed on an eighteen-wheeler, it reminded me of Echidna's reptilian voice.**

"Paranoid much?" snorted Hermes.

"I'd be paranoid if I were on a quest that dangerous," Jason defended the son of Poseidon.

Many of the demigods looked at the former Roman praetor in amazement. He had changed drastically from the jealous, even bratty boy from earlier in the book.

He caught their amazed looks and shrugged, smiling. "I learned from these books that Percy endured a lot of dangerous things, even at age twelve."

**At sunset, the taxi dropped us at the beach in Santa Monica. It looked exactly the way L. A. Beaches do in the movies, only it smelled worse. There were carnival rides lining the Pier, palm trees lining the sidewalks, homeless guys sleeping in the sand dunes, and surfer dudes waiting for the perfect wave.**

"Surfer dudes," Apollo repeated in disbelief. "Is he crazy? The proper term is _radical_ surfer dudes!"

Everyone looked at him like he was going out of his mind… which he probably was.

**Grover, Annabeth, and I walked down to the edge of the surf. **

**"What now?" Annabeth asked. **

**The Pacific was turning gold in the setting sun. **

"That sounds beautiful," remarked Piper.

Aphrodite smiled. "It does," she agreed.

"Bipolar," Nico mouthed to Annabeth and Thalia, who both nodded fervently in fierce agreement. The Goddess of Love was _definitely_ bipolar.

**I thought about ****how long it had been since I'd stood on the beach at Montauk, on the opposite side of the country, looking out at a different sea. **

"Sentimental much?" snorted Octavian.

"If you're about to die, isn't sentimentality mandatory?" retorted Hazel angrily. "I'm getting really fed up with you, Octavian. Why can't you change like Jason did? Can't you just _respect_ people?"

**How could there be a god who could control all that? What did my science teacher used to say – two-thirds of the earth's surface was covered in water? **

"It is," Annabeth confirmed. "70%, actually."

"And it _is_ a pretty big job," Poseidon chimed in.

Hera raised an eyebrow. "But you have Amphitrite to help you, correct?"

Poseidon nodded.

"You really should appreciate your wives more," snapped Hera, and both her husband and brother flinched, preparing themselves for a long lecture. "They help you more than anyone else ever could, and you just cheat on them over and over again!"

To their (and Hades') immense surprise, Persephone jumped in, agreeing with her stepmother/aunt for once. "That's right. Who keeps the world, be it upper, under, or water, when you decide to go off and seduce a mortal woman? Who is bound to you for eternity no matter what happens? Who will always be by your side no matter what? Is it that foolish mortal woman or _us_?"

Hera's eyes widened, unused to this side of the Spring Goddess and Queen of the Underworld, but nodded furiously in agreement and approval. "Queen Persephone is right. _We_ are worthy of your love. What have those women done?"

Poseidon looked slightly angered. "Love is unconditional, Hera. It does not need to be provoked by something that has been done."

Persephone pursed her lips. "Very well. If that is how it shall be, then it shall be just that." She glanced at her mother. "And don't you dare say a word against me, Mother." She rose gracefully from her throne and swept to the throne room doors, carrying the eyes of the other readers with her. "I will be in the Underworld. When those insolent gods come to their senses, come fetch me, will you, Hermes?" she asked her half-brother, flashing one of her dazzling smiles.

Hermes grinned. "Of course, milady."

With another glare to her husband, Persephone teleported out, leaving behind the scent of flowers.

"What just happened?" Hades asked cluelessly.

**How could I be the son of someone that powerful?**

"Of course! You're the most powerful demigod I've ever met!" Nico exclaimed.

**I stepped into the surf.**

**"Percy?" Annabeth said. "What are you doing?"**

**I kept walking, up to my waist, then my chest. **

**She called after me, "You know how polluted that water is? There're all kinds of toxic-"**

"I doubt that would affect him," Poseidon said, "but what is he doing in the surf at this time? Shouldn't he be barging into the Underworld and incorrectly accuse my brother here of stealing the bolt and demand for his mother back?"

Hades allowed himself a reluctant smile, still shocked at what had happened. "Thank you, brother, for being one of the only people who actually believe me."

**That's when my head went under. **

**I held my breath at first. It's difficult to intentionally inhale water. Finally I couldn't stand it anymore. I gasped. Sure enough, I could breathe normally. **

"Of course he could!" cried Athena. "He's the child of _Poseidon_, for gods' sakes!"

Poseidon smiled cheekily. "You didn't call me a nickname then!"

"Shut it, Algae A-"

"Language, Athena," Zeus interrupted. He nodded to the blacksmith god to continue.

**I walked down into the shoals. I shouldn't have been able to see through the murk, but somehow I could tell where everything was. **

Apollo and Hermes gasped.

"What? Why can't we have awesome powers, Dad?" Hermes whined.

"Being able to teleport isn't an amazing power?" Zeus asked skeptically. He glanced at Apollo. "Being able to sense the future and drive the sun chariot over the world isn't an amazing power? Truly?"

"But we can't tell exactly where everything is!" Apollo whined.

**I could sense the rolling texture of the bottom. I could make out sand-dollar colonies dotting the sandbars. I could even see the currents, warm and cold streams swirling together. **

**I felt something rub against my leg. I looked down and almost shot out of the water like a ballistic missile. Sliding along beside me was a five-foot-long mako shark. **

Aphrodite let out a shrill shriek.

"Harmless," Poseidon assured her. "To him, especially."

**But the thing wasn't attacking. It was nuzzling me. Heeling like a dog. **

"Which is just weird," commented Frank.

"Can't you turn into one?" Leo asked.

Frank grumbled. "Shut up."

**Tentatively, I touched its dorsal fin. It bucked a little, as if inviting me to hold tighter. I grabbed the fin with both hands. It took off, pulling me along. The shark carried me down into the darkness. It deposited me at the edge of the ocean proper, where the sand bank dropped off into a huge chasm. It was like standing on the rim of the Grand Canyon at midnight, not being able to see much, but knowing the void was right there. **

"Um… does he know how that feels?" asked Reyna, looking concerned for her fellow praetor's sanity.

Annabeth chuckled. "I don't think so, at this point in the story, but it was a pretty good simile."

Reyna nodded in agreement.

**The surface shimmered maybe a hundred and fifty feet above. I knew I should've been crushed by the pressure. **

"Crushed by the pressure? _Never_!" exclaimed Poseidon, sounding offended.

Hermes snorted. "He didn't know that, Uncle P."

"I _know_," Poseidon replied. "There's a little thing called sarcasm, Hermes." Then he smirked. "Aren't you supposedly the 'master of sarcasm'?"

Travis piped up, "No! That's Perce. He _rules_ sarcasm."

"Must run in the family," muttered Athena.

**Then again, I shouldn't have been able to breathe. I wondered if ****there was a limit to how deep I could go, if I could sink straight to the bottom of the Pacific. **

"Could he?" asked Frank.

Poseidon nodded. "No problem."

**Then I saw something glimmering in the darkness below, growing bigger and brighter as it rose toward me. A woman's voice, like my mother's, called: "Percy Jackson."**

"Isn't she the one from the Mississippi?" asked Hazel.

Piper shrugged. "Probably. He connected her to his mother twice, so yeah, probably."

**As she got closer, her shape became clearer. She had flowing black hair, a dress made of green silk. **

"Nereid," Athena realized. "She's a Nereid."

**Light flickered around her, and her eyes were so distractingly beautiful I hardly noticed the stallion-sized sea horse she was riding.**

Annabeth just barely hid a scowl, but Connor and Travis, experts at reading expressions quickly, caught it.

"Jealous, Annie?" teased Connor.

"Shut it, Stoll," Annabeth growled. "Do you not remember my dagger? I won't hesitate to slit your throat."

"Vicious," Travis murmured.

Her glare switched to him, and he gulped.

**She dismounted. The sea horse and the mako shark whisked off and started playing something that looked like tag. **

"Crazy sea creatures," remarked Artemis with a hint of fondness, shaking her head.

"Playing tag?" Jason asked skeptically.

Poseidon smiled. "There's a lot more to sea creatures than seafood." At the mention of seafood, his face darkened.

"You don't like seafood, Lord Poseidon?" asked Katie politely.

The god shook his head. "Killing innocent animals simply for food. There is plenty more on the earth. Even above the water I hardly approve of it."

**The underwater lady smiled at me. "You've come far, Percy Jackson. Well done."**

**I wasn't quite sure what to do, so I bowed. "You're the woman who spoke to me in the Mississippi River."**

"**Yes, child. I am a Nereid, a spirit of the sea. **

"There are so many spirits," mumbled Nico. "How are we supposed to keep them straight?"

"There's always Camp Half-Blood," Thalia reminded him. "I'm sure Chiron could arrange some sort of spirit class or something."

**It was not easy to appear so far upriver, but the naiads, my freshwater cousins, helped sustain my life force. They honor Lord Poseidon, though they do not serve in his court."**

Poseidon nodded. "And I don't hold them against it."

"**And... you serve in Poseidon's court?"**

**She nodded. "It has been many years since a child of the Sea God has been born. We have watched you with great interest."**

"That sounds sort of stalkerish," commented Will.

"Is stalkerish even a word?" asked Annabeth.

Will shrugged. "You tell me, daughter of wisdom," he joked, smiling.

**Suddenly I remembered faces in the waves off Montauk Beach when I was a little boy, reflections of smiling women. Like so many of the weird things in my life, I'd never given it much thought before.**

"**If my father is so interested in me," I said, "why isn't he here? Why doesn't he speak to me?"**

Poseidon winced, but didn't comment. It was a good question.

Reyna, however, looked shocked. "Shouldn't he be dead by now? He's so disrespectful!"

"And reckless," added Hazel, looking fearful for her friend's life, even if she _knew_ he was alive at the time.

"I guess the Olympians have gotten used to it," replied Rachel. "That's just the way he is."

"That, or they just don't want Poseidon turning on them," muttered Piper.

Annabeth, hearing, chuckled quietly and nodded in agreement. "Most likely."

**A cold current rose out of the depths.**

"Seems like he's not going to take it lying down," Frank told Reyna.

"Cold current," Clarisse repeated, raising an eyebrow at Frank. "Just a show of his disapproval, a rather tame one. Too bad, it would have been awesome if the punk was incarnated."

"Poseidon wouldn't incarnate one of his children," Hestia told the girl. "He truly does love his children."

"And wouldn't turn them into a tree," Thalia muttered unhappily.

"**Do not judge the Lord of the Sea too harshly," the Nereid told me. "He stands at the brink of an unwanted war. He has much to occupy his time. Besides, he is forbidden to help you directly. The gods may not show such favoritism."**

"**Even to their own children?"**

"They must fight their own fights," Dionysus said, uncharacteristically gravely.

Ares laughed. "It's much more interesting that way."

"**Especially to them. The gods can work by indirect influence only. That is why I give you a warning, and a gift."**

**She held out her hand. Three white pearls flashed in her palm. **

Poseidon nodded knowingly. "Ah."

Hades narrowed his eyes. "What are you doing, brother?"

His brother simply shrugged. "It will be in the book, I assume?" he asked Annabeth.

She nodded.

"**I know you journey to Hades's realm," she said. "Few mortals have ever done this and survived: Orpheus, who had great music skill; Hercules, who had great strength; Houdini, who could escape even the depths of Tartarus. Do you have these talents?"**

"No," snorted Octavian.

"Shut up," snarled Nico.

"**Um... no, ma'am."**

"**Ah, but you have something else, Percy. You have gifts you have only begun to know. The oracles have foretold a great and terrible future for you, **

"Contradicting words," remarked Hephaestus, taking his eyes off the book for a second.

"Oxymoron, I suppose," agreed Athena.

**should you survive to manhood. Poseidon would not have you die before your time. Therefore take these, and when you are in need, smash a pearl at your feet."**

"**What will happen?"**

"**That," she said, "depends on the need. But remember: what belongs to the sea will always return to the sea."**

"Cryptic much?" complained Apollo. "Why can't these people talk in plain English instead of riddles?"

"Aren't you the master of riddles? You _are_ the god of prophecies," Artemis reminded him.

"Only my own riddles," Apollo defended himself. "Most of the time."

"**What about the warning?"**

**Her eyes flickered with green light. "Go with what your heart tells you, or you will lose all. Hades feeds on doubt and hopelessness. He will trick you if he can, make you mistrust your own judgment. Once you are in his realm, he will never willingly let you leave. **

"She makes me sound so charming," Hades commented dryly.

"No, she's simply telling the truth," Demeter snapped in return, looking at her daughter's empty throne.

**Keep faith. Good luck, Percy Jackson."**

**She summoned her sea horse and rode toward the void. **

"**Wait!" I called. "At the river, you said not to trust the gifts. What gifts?"**

"**Good-bye, young hero," she called back, her voice fading into the depths. "You must listen to your heart." **

"Like I said. Cryptic much?" repeated Apollo.

**She became a speck of glowing green, and then she was gone. **

**I wanted to follow her down into the darkness. I wanted to see the court of Poseidon. **

"One day," Poseidon promised his son. Then he paused, looking at the demigods. "_Does_ my son get to see my palace?"

Annabeth smiled. "Perhaps."

**But I looked up at the sunset darkening on the surface. My friends were waiting. We had so little time...**

"Noble git," muttered Rachel.

"Noble git is right," agreed Will, hiding a smile.

**I kicked upward toward the shore. **

**When I reached the beach, my clothes dried instantly. I told Grover and Annabeth what had happened, and showed them the pearls.**

**Annabeth grimaced. "No gift comes without a price."**

"True," Athena agreed.

"**They were free."**

"He missed the point completely," shared Annabeth, shaking her head, but she was smiling widely. "Of course he did, he's a Seaweed Brain."

"For a second there, I thought you were going soft on us!" teased Thalia.

"**No." She shook her head. "'There is no such thing as a free lunch.' That's an ancient Greek saying that translated pretty well into American. There will be a price. You wait."**

"So optimistic," snorted Hermes.

"Or _realistic_," shot back Annabeth.

**On that happy thought, we turned our backs on the sea. **

**With some spare change from Ares's backpack, we took the bus into West Hollywood. I showed the driver the Underworld address slip I'd taken from Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium, but he'd never heard of DOA Recording Studios. **

"Of course he didn't," said Hades. "Do you think that we'd put the entrance somewhere _obvious_?"

"**You remind me of somebody I saw on TV," he told me. "You a child actor or something?"**

Hera winced. "I suppose sometime or other someone would recognize them." Ever since Persephone had stormed out, there had been no more talk of wives and love and blah, blah, blah. She was, of course, itching to say something, but she didn't want to trigger a long argument that would simply result in not finishing the chapter quickly enough.

"**Uh... I'm a stunt double... for a lot of child actors."**

"**Oh! That explains it."**

"That's pretty smart," admitted Piper.

**We thanked him and got off quickly at the next stop.**

**We wandered for miles on foot, looking for DOA. Nobody seemed to know where it was. It didn't appear in the phone book. **

**Twice, we ducked into alleys to avoid cop cars.**

"Ooh, living the life of fugitives," sighed Hermes, a dreamy look in his eyes. "I wish _I_ could do that… but mortals recognize gods too easily."

Everyone looked at him oddly.

"Hermes, one, you can change your appearance," began Artemis.

"And two," Thalia finished for the goddess, "that would add to the thrill, wouldn't it? You would be two-timing it. Running because you're a fugitive _and_ a god."

**I froze in front of an appliance-store window because a television was playing an interview with somebody who looked very familiar – my stepdad, Smelly Gabe. He was talking to Barbara Walters – I mean, as if he were some kind of huge celebrity. She was interviewing him in our apartment, in the middle of a poker game, and there was a young blond lady sitting next to him, patting his hand.**

Poseidon gripped the armrests of his throne angrily. "Speaking of two-timing it… is he cheating on Sally?"

"Calm down, brother," Zeus told him. "We won't find out unless you do."

**A fake tear glistened on his cheek. **

"The fat, fake, _idiotic_, _moronic_ git!" exploded Annabeth.

**He was saying, "Honest, Ms. Walters, if it wasn't for Sugar here, my grief counselor, I'd be a wreck. **

"_Sugar_?" repeated Apollo incredulously. "His grief counselor's name is _Sugar_?"

Nico's face was very dark. "I have an odd feeling she's using _multiple_ ways to counsel his grief."

Poseidon's lips were pressed together so tightly they were white, and his knuckles were also white from gripping the throne in anger.

**My stepson took everything I cared about. My wife... my Camaro... I-I'm sorry. I have trouble talking about it."**

"Because you won't be able to spit out another lie," spat Poseidon, unable to keep his mouth shut any longer.

"**There you have it, America." Barbara Walters turned to the camera. "A man torn apart. **

"A man torn apart indeed," muttered Thalia.

**An adolescent boy with serious issues. **

"An adolescent boy with serious issues indeed," was Nico's response to Thalia, who just smiled grimly.

**Let me show you, again, the last known photo of this troubled young fugitive, taken a week ago in Denver."**

**The screen cut to a grainy shot of me, Annabeth, and Grover standing outside the Colorado diner, talking to Ares.**

"They _caught_ that?" asked Ares, shooting upright in his chair. "Awesome! This gives some more juicy details!"

"**Who are the other children in this photo?" Barbara Walters asked dramatically. "Who is the man with them? Is Percy Jackson a delinquent, a terrorist, or perhaps the brainwashed victim of a frightening new cult? **

"Oh, yes. The brainwashed victim of a frightening new cult, definitely," said Demeter sarcastically. "These people need cereal!"

"She gets _paid_ for spouting nonsense like this?" asked Will in disbelief.

**When we come back, we chat with a leading child psychologist. Stay tuned, America."**

"**C'mon," Grover told me. He hauled me away before I could punch a hole in the appliance-store window.**

"Should've let him," muttered Hera darkly.

**It got dark, and hungry-looking characters started coming out on the streets to play.**

"Oh, that's bad," murmured Hestia. "I completely forgot about the gangs and other terrible things that happen at night."

"They'll be fine," Poseidon assured his sister, but he too was worried. His son's sword couldn't hurt mortals.

**Now, don't get me wrong. I'm a New Yorker. I don't scare easy. But L. A. Had a totally different feel from New York. Back home, everything seemed close. It didn't matter how big the city was, you could get anywhere without getting lost.**

"New York is very organized," agreed Katie.

"Grid system," added Rachel.

**The street pattern and the subway made sense. There was a system to how things worked. A kid could be safe as long as he wasn't stupid.**

**L.A. wasn't like that. It was spread out, chaotic, hard to move around. It reminded me of Ares. It wasn't enough for L.A. To be big; it had to prove it was big by being loud and strange and difficult to navigate, too. I didn't know how we were ever going to find the entrance to the Underworld by tomorrow, the summer solstice.**

"It's like mission: impossible," remarked Hazel quietly.

**We walked past gangbangers, bums, and street hawkers, who looked at us like they were trying to figure if we were worth the trouble of mugging.**

**As we hurried passed the entrance of an alley, a voice from the darkness said, "Hey, you."**

**Like an idiot, I stopped. **

"Oh no," moaned Katie. "Why didn't you pull him along?"

Annabeth winced, paling. "I have no clue."

**Before I knew it, we were surrounded. A gang of kids had circled us. Six of them in all-white kids with expensive clothes and mean faces. **

"Rich snobs," snorted Poseidon.

**Like the kids at Yancy Academy: rich brats playing at being bad boys.**

**Instinctively, I uncapped Riptide.**

"Stupid," bemoaned Poseidon.

**When the sword appeared out of nowhere, the kids backed off, but their leader was either really stupid or really brave, because he kept coming at me with a switchblade.**

**I made the mistake of swinging.**

**The kid yelped. But he must've been one hundred per-cent mortal, because the blade passed harmlessly right through his chest. He looked down. "What the..."**

"It's times like these when I wish that some people just weren't fully mortal," muttered Annabeth, recollecting that day.

**I figured I had about three seconds before his shock turned to anger. "Run!" I screamed at Annabeth and Grover.**

"No duh!" exclaimed Leo, but there was a note of worry even in his voice. When his peeps turned to him incredulously, he threw up his hands. "What? They didn't come this far to be stopped by a few cowardly, spindly kids!"

**We pushed two kids out of the way and raced down the street, not knowing where we were going. We turned a sharp corner.**

"**There!" Annabeth shouted.**

**Only one store on the block looked open, its windows glaring with neon. The sign above the door said something like CRSTUY'S WATRE BDE ALPACE.**

Hephaestus struggled to pronounce that.

Reyna frowned. "Dyslexia?" she guessed.

Annabeth nodded, looking slightly uncomfortable. "Yes."

"**Crusty's Water Bed Palace?" Grover translated.**

"Still doesn't sound very appealing," remarked Frank.

**It didn't sound like a place I'd ever go except in an emergency, but this definitely qualified.**

"He'll face much worse," Octavian said. "He's afraid of a _gang_?"

Annabeth blanched, but didn't say anything. If Octavian only knew…

**We burst through the doors, ran behind a water bed, and ducked. A split second later, the gang kids ran past outside.**

"**I think we lost them," Grover panted.**

**A voice behind us boomed, "Lost who?"**

"Oh no!" yelped Hazel.

**We all jumped.**

**Standing behind us was a guy who looked like a raptor in a leisure suit. He was at least seven feet tall, with absolutely no hair. **

"Monster?" asked Katie, almost fearfully.

Annabeth didn't answer.

**He had gray, leathery skin, thick-lidded eyes, and a cold, reptilian smile. He moved toward us slowly, but I got the feeling he could move fast if he needed to. **

"Why haven't they taken out their weapons yet?" demanded Hera.

**His suit might've come from the Lotus Casino. It belonged back in the seventies, big-time. The shirt was silk paisley, unbuttoned halfway down his hairless chest. The lapels on his velvet jacket were as wide as landing strips. The silver chains around his neck – I couldn't even count them.**

"**I'm Crusty," he said, with a tartar-yellow smile.**

**I resisted the urge to say, **_**Yes, you are**_**.**

"**Sorry to barge in," I told him. "We were just, um, browsing."**

"Terrible liar, he is," commented Rachel with a smile.

"**You mean hiding from those no-good kids," he grumbled. **

"Well, he approves of them," remarked Artemis dryly. "He sounds disgusting, to be frank."

"More like he can sniff out a good liar," Athena returned, her eyes worried.

"**They hang around every night. I get a lot of people in here, thanks to them. Say, you want to look at a water bed?"**

"He let that go pretty quickly," observed Hades.

**I was about to say No, thanks, when he put a huge paw on my shoulder and steered me deeper into the showroom.**

**There was every kind of water bed you could imagine: different kinds of wood, different patterns of sheets; queen-size, king-size, emperor-of-the-universe-size. **

"Can I have the emperor-of-the-universe size?" asked Apollo excitedly, bouncing up and down in his throne.

"No fair! If he gets one, I get one too!" Hermes chimed in.

Poseidon rolled his eyes at them. "You two are such _children_."

"And anyway, _I_ am the emperor of the universe," Zeus reminded them.

"No need to remind us," muttered Hera.

"**This is my most popular model." Crusty spread his hands proudly over a bed covered with black satin sheets, with built-in Lava Lamps on the headboard. The mattress vibrated, so it looked like oil-flavored Jell-O.**

"**Million-hand massage," Crusty told us. **

"Million-hand massage?" gasped Hermes.

"I want it!" whined Connor.

"**Go on, try it out. Shoot, take a nap. I don't care. No business today, anyway."**

"**Um," I said, "I don't think..."**

"Good. Be wary," lectured Reyna, but she couldn't keep the tone of concern out of her voice.

"**Million-hand massage!" Grover cried, and dove in. "Oh, you guys! This is cool."**

Demeter winced. "Some cereal would smarten that satyr up."

"As if anything could," mumbled Zeus.

Thalia eyeballed him fiercely.

"**Hmm," Crusty said, stroking his leathery chin. "Almost, almost."**

"**Almost what?" I asked.**

**He looked at Annabeth. "Do me a favor and try this one over here, honey. Might fit."**

"Don't!" cried Athena.

**Annabeth said, "But what-"**

Athena breathed out in relief.

Hephaestus flinched, wondering if she would be so relieved soon.

**He patted her reassuringly on the shoulder and led her over to the Safari Deluxe model with teakwood lions carved into the frame and a leopard-patterned comforter. When Annabeth didn't want to lie down, Crusty pushed her. **

"No!" yelped Athena.

"Did you just _yelp_?" asked Aphrodite excitedly.

"No!" snapped Athena.

"**Hey!" she protested.**

**Crusty snapped his fingers. "Ergo!"**

"Ergo?" repeated Hades skeptically.

**Ropes sprang from the sides of the bed, lashing around Annabeth, holding her to the mattress.**

"No!" exclaimed Athena for the third time in a row.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Thank you for the concern, Mother, but, as you can see, I'm perfectly all right."

**Grover tried to get up, but ropes sprang from his black-satin bed, too, and lashed him down.**

"Poor goat," sympathized Jason.

"Faun, not goat," Octavian corrected his former praetor sharply.

"He _is_ half-goat," Jason shot back, "and he is a _satyr_, not a faun. It's a simple fact and difference, Octavian. Get it right, why don't you?"

"**N-not c-c-cool!" he yelled, his voice vibrating from the million-hand massage. "N-not c-cool a-at all!"**

"Or he could be bleating," pointed out Travis.

**The giant looked at Annabeth, then turned toward me and grinned. "Almost, darn it."**

**I tried to step away, but his hand shot out and clamped around the back of my neck. **

"Let him go," snapped Poseidon.

"**Whoa, kid. Don't worry. We'll find you one in a sec."**

"**Let my friends go."**

"**Oh, sure I will. But I got to make them fit, first."**

"Fit?" asked Hephaestus slowly, looking up from the book.

Athena had whitened.

"**What do you mean?"**

"**All the beds are exactly six feet, see? Your friends are too short. Got to make them fit."**

"Just as I feared," whispered Athena. She glanced at her daughter. "How are you not six feet and stretched thin as a wire?"

**Annabeth and Grover kept struggling.**

"**Can't stand imperfect measurements," Crusty muttered. "Ergo!"**

"Oh, fantastic," groaned Will, putting his head in his hands.

**A new set of ropes leaped out from the top and bottom of the beds, wrapping around Grover and Annabeth's ankles, then around their armpits. The ropes started tightening, pulling my friends from both ends.**

"Did that hurt?" asked Reyna curiously.

Annabeth gritted her teeth, trying not to recall that particular memory.

"**Don't worry," Crusty told me, "These are stretching jobs. Maybe three extra inches on their spines. They might even live. **

"They might even live?" repeated Hestia. "That man is cruel."

**Now why don't we find a bed you like, huh?"**

"**Percy!" Grover yelled.**

**My mind was racing. I knew I couldn't take on this giant water-bed salesman alone. He would snap my neck before I ever got my sword out.**

"That's quite wise," Athena grudgingly admitted.

Annabeth smiled secretly.

"**Your real name's not Crusty, is it?" I asked.**

"**Legally, it's Procrustes," he admitted.**

"**The Stretcher," I said. I remembered the story: the giant who'd tried to kill Theseus with excess hospitality on his way to Athens.**

"Monster," clarified Hazel. "Or close enough to one."

"**Yeah," the salesman said. "But who can pronounce Procrustes? Bad for business. Now 'Crusty,' anybody can say that."**

"**You're right. It's got a good ring to it."**

"And out comes sweet-talking Perce," commented Connor.

**His eyes lit up. "You think so?"**

"**Oh, absolutely," I said. "And the workmanship on these beds? Fabulous!"**

Aphrodite looked outraged. "I'm willing to bet it isn't!"

**He grinned hugely, but his fingers didn't loosen on my neck. "I tell my customers that. Every time. Nobody bothers to look at the workmanship. How many built-in Lava Lamp headboards have you seen?"**

"That _is_ pretty cool," Apollo commented, looking pointedly at Aphrodite.

"**Not too many."**

"**That's right!"**

"**Percy!" Annabeth yelled. "What are you doing?"**

"**Don't mind her," I told Procrustes. "She's impossible."**

"What _are_ you doing?" screeched Athena. "My daughter is potentially _dying_ and you're calling her impossible?"

Poseidon rolled his eyes. "You, of all people, should get it. And they call you the wisdom goddess!"

"I _am_!" Athena protested childishly.

**The giant laughed. "All my customers are. Never six feet exactly. So inconsiderate. And then they complain about the fitting."**

"**What do you do if they're longer than six feet?"**

"Brilliant question," remarked Zeus dryly.

"**Oh, that happens all the time. It's a simple fix."**

**He let go of my neck, but before I could react, he reached behind a nearby sales desk and brought out a huge double-bladed brass axe. He said, "I just center the subject as best I can and lop off whatever hangs over on either end."**

More than a few winces were seen across the throne room.

"Pleasant," choked out Dionysus, gulping down a Diet Coke quickly.

"**Ah," I said, swallowing hard. "Sensible."**

"**I'm so glad to come across an intelligent customer!"**

"Maybe he can't sniff out a liar that well," Annabeth said, glancing at her mother, who put up her hands innocently.

"_Intelligent?_ Because he thinks it'd be _sensible_ to lop off extra body parts of over-six-feet-tall customers?" asked Frank.

**The ropes were really stretching my friends now. Annabeth was turning pale. Grover made gurgling sounds, like a strangled goose. **

"**So, Crusty..." I said, trying to keep my voice light. I glanced at the sales tag on the valentine-shaped Honeymoon Special. "Does this one really have dynamic stabilizers to stop wave motion?"**

"What the Hades _is_ he doing?" demanded Athena.

"Shut up and figure it out!" Poseidon retorted. He obviously already had. Annabeth was surprised, but hid it well.

"**Absolutely. Try it out."**

"**Yeah, maybe I will. But would it work even for a big guy like you? No waves at all?"**

"Oh." Athena looked down, feeling stupid.

"**Guaranteed."**

"**No way."**

"**Way."**

"**Show me."**

**He sat down eagerly on the bed, patted the mattress. "No waves. See?"**

**I snapped my fingers. "Ergo."**

"Brilliant, he is!" cheered Apollo.

"Go Perce!" added Will.

**Ropes lashed around Crusty and flattened him against the mattress. **

"**Hey!" he yelled. **

"**Center him just right," I said.**

**The ropes readjusted themselves at my command. Crusty's whole head stuck out the top. His feet stuck out the bottom. **

"Is he going to…?" Reyna trailed off, looking slightly sick.

"**No!" he said. "Wait! This is just a demo."**

**I uncapped Riptide. "A few simple adjustments..."**

**I had no qualms about what I was about to do. If Crusty were human, I couldn't hurt him anyway. If he was a monster, he deserved to turn into dust for a while.**

"Oh, yeah, he is," Jason told Reyna, also flinching slightly.

"It _is_ pretty gross," Piper jumped in.

"**You drive a hard bargain," he told me. "I'll give you thirty percent off on selected floor models."**

"**I think I'll start with the top." I raised my sword. **

"**No money down! No interest for six months!"**

**I swung the sword. Crusty stopped making offers.**

"He's gone!" cheered Hermes.

**I cut the ropes on the other beds. Annabeth and Grover got to their feet, groaning and wincing and cursing me a lot. **

"**You look taller," I said. **

"Seaweed Brain," Thalia said, shaking her head, but she was smiling. "I take it you and Grover didn't take it that well?"

Annabeth just laughed.

"**Very funny," Annabeth said. "Be faster next time."**

"Be grateful," Nico chastised her, but he was also smiling.

Annabeth just grinned.

**I looked at the bulletin board behind Crusty's sales desk. There was an advertisement for Hermes Delivery Service, and another for the All-New Compendium of L.A. Area Monsters – "The only Monstrous Yellow Pages you'll ever need!" Under that, a bright orange flier for DOA Recording Studios, offering commissions for heroes' souls. "We are always looking for new talent!" DOA's address was right underneath with a map.**

"They always seem to find things when they kill monsters, don't they?" asked Athena conversationally.

"**Come on," I told my friends.**

"**Give us a minute," Grover complained. "We were almost stretched to death."**

"**Then you're ready for the Underworld," I said. "It's only a block from here."**

"Yay," said Hades sarcastically. "I'm about to come face-to-face with three of my biggest accusers. Sounds exciting."

Annabeth stood and said to Hephaestus, "Lord Hephaestus, may I read next?"

Hephaestus nodded. "Sure. Here." He handed her the book, and Annabeth turned to the next chapter.

x.o.x.o.x.

A/N: I'm sure you all want to cyber-kill me or something, but I'd advise you not to, because 1) I value my life and 2) Percy's about to arrive, you do realize that, right? Haha! Blackmail! Or close to it!

I hope that, if you were hit by Sandy, you are alive and well, and that the same goes for your loved ones. Stay safe!


	20. Annabeth Does Obedience School

A/N: Here you are!

x.o.x.o.x.

**Annabeth Does Obedience School**, read Annabeth, and gasped, dropping the book. "I can't believe I didn't see it earlier! The Fates meant that this chapter is when Percy would arrive!" She glanced around frantically. "Where is he?"

Thalia laid a calm hand on her arm, trying to placate her. "Don't worry, Annie, I'm sure Squid Scalp will be here soon."

"Squid Scalp?" asked Nico. "Does that even make any sense?"

Thalia shrugged. "Who cares? He once called me Leaf Laurel. Does _that_ make any sense?"

No one bothered to answer her.

**We stood in the shadows of Valencia Boulevard, looking up at gold letters etched in black marble: DOA RECORDING STUDIOS.**

**Underneath, stenciled on the glass doors: NO SOLICITORS. NO LOITERING. NO LIVING.**

"That's pleasant," remarked Artemis, looking pointedly at Hades.

He just shrugged and put his hands up. "I didn't stencil the glass doors. I have more important things to be doing."

**It was almost midnight, but the lobby was brightly lit and full of people. Behind the security desk sat a tough-looking guard with sunglasses and an earpiece.**

"Charon?" guessed Hades. Annabeth just shrugged mysteriously.

"Charon? Chiron? What's the difference?" asked Frank, sounding confused.

"Charon is the person who rows across the River Styx, and Chiron is the trainer of heroes," Katie explained.

**I turned to my friends. "Okay. You remember the plan."**

"**The plan," Grover gulped. "Yeah. I love the plan."**

**Annabeth said, "What happens if the plan doesn't work?"**

"**Don't think negative."**

"Oh, that's encouraging," commented Leo sarcastically. "The land of Hades makes you think positive." He nodded. "Sounds legit."

"**Right," she said. "We're entering the Land of the Dead, and I shouldn't think negative."**

Annabeth shuddered. "I think along the same lines as Leo… should I be afraid?"

"Most definitely," replied Piper firmly.

**I took the pearls out of my pocket, the three milky spheres the Nereid had given me in Santa Monica. They didn't seem like much of a backup in case something went wrong. **

"Oh, they'll be perfect," Poseidon contradicted. "Don't you worry."

**Annabeth put her hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry, Percy. You're right, we'll make it. It'll be fine."**

"Don't you know lying is a sin?" Connor scolded Annabeth, wagging his finger.

Annabeth just raised an eyebrow at him.

**She gave Grover a nudge.**

"**Oh, right!" he chimed in. "We got this far. We'll find the master bolt and save your mom. No problem."**

"Because the goat is _such_ a convincing liar," muttered Zeus.

**I looked at them both, and felt really grateful. Only a few minutes before, I'd almost gotten them stretched to death on deluxe water beds, and now they were trying to be brave for my sake, trying to make me feel better.**

**I slipped the pearls back in my pocket. "Let's whup some Underworld butt."**

"Like he could," snorted Hades.

"He will," muttered Nico to Thalia and Annabeth, who glanced at him curiously. Well, more Thalia, because Percy told Annabeth everything.

**We walked inside the DOA lobby.**

**Muzak played softly on hidden speakers. The carpet and walls were steel gray. Pencil cactuses grew in the corners like skeleton hands. The furniture was black leather, and every seat was taken. **

"That crowded, huh?" questioned Hephaestus, glancing at his uncle.

Hades nodded grimly and glared pointedly at Demeter. "I'll bet it would have been overflowing if we'd been here when she starved the Earth."

**There were people sitting on couches, people standing up, people staring out the windows or waiting for the elevator. Nobody moved, or talked, or did much of anything. **

"Creepy," remarked Apollo, shivering.

"Now imagine sorting them, and then dealing with the ones who go to Tartarus," Hades told him gravely.

**Out of the corner of my eye, I could see them all just fine, but if I focused on any one of them in particular, they started looking... transparent. I could see right through their bodies.**

**The security guard's desk was a raised podium, so we had to look up at him.**

"Charon would love that," snorted Hades.

"Is he going to get to commentate?" Poseidon asked Zeus quietly.

Zeus shrugged. "He _is_ the villain of the book, so probably."

Hades glared at the two of them. "I _heard_ that, you know."

**He was tall and elegant, with chocolate-colored skin and bleached-blond hair shaved military style. He wore tortoiseshell shades and a silk Italian suit that matched his hair. A black rose was pinned to his lapel under a silver name tag.**

**I read the name tag, then looked at him in bewilderment. "Your name is Chiron?"**

Hades tried to stifle a laugh, but it came out as a snort. "The guy hates it when people mix up his name like that!"

**He leaned across the desk. I couldn't see anything in his glasses except my own reflection, but his smile was sweet and cold, like a pythons, right before it eats you. **

"Creep_ier_," muttered Apollo, shuddering again.

"**What a precious young lad." **

"Now _that's_ pretty scary," observed Poseidon. "Having a strange guy call you a 'precious young lad.'"

**He had a strange accent – British, maybe, but also as if he had learned English as a second language. "Tell me, mate, do I look like a centaur?"**

"**N-no."**

"Are you sure?" asked Travis cheekily.

"**Sir," he added smoothly.**

"**Sir," I said.**

Hades rolled his eyes. "Kid's not supposed to bow to the old man's wishes."

"I always envisioned Charon as a creepy guy in a hoodie," murmured Rachel. "Not a guy in an Italian suit or whatever."

**He pinched the name tag and ran his finger under the letters. "Can you read this, mate? It says C-H-A-R- O-N. Say it with me: CARE-ON."**

"**Charon."**

"**Amazing! Now: Mr. Charon."**

"**Mr. Charon," I said.**

"Interesting," muttered Reyna. "Percy usually _never_ listens to _anyone_, not even a god. Especially not this minor of a god… right?" She appealed to the veteran Greeks for an answer.

They all nodded in confirmation.

"**Well done." He sat back. "I hate being confused with that old horse-man. And now, how may I help you little dead ones?"**

"He can't tell they're alive?" asked Dionysus. "That old bat. He's a good drinking partner, though."

Hades gave him a death glare. "You've been getting my ferryman intoxicated? Are you _mad_?"

"Yes," Apollo answered for the wine god, who scowled.

**His question caught in my stomach like a fastball. **

"Baseball!" cheered Hazel, and then caught the odd looks of the others. "What?" she asked defensively.

**I looked at Annabeth for support. **

"**We want to go the Underworld," she said. **

"Blunt much?" sneered Octavian.

"Yes," shot back Annabeth.

**Charon's mouth twitched. "Well, that's refreshing."**

"**It is?" she asked. **

"**Straightforward and honest. No screaming. No 'There must be a mistake, Mr. Charon.'" **

"They're still in denial when they get to judgment day," grumbled Hades.

**He looked us over. "How did you die, then?"**

"Should've thought up a story first," chuckled Hera, happy that they had gotten away from the water-bed-selling giant and the terrible gang.

**I nudged Grover. **

"**Oh," he said. "Um... drowned... in the bathtub."**

"**All three of you?" Charon asked. We nodded.**

"**Big bathtub." Charon looked mildly impressed. **

"You need to train him to be less gullible," Hermes lectured his uncle.

Hades glared at him. "I cannot _train_ him to do anything, nephew. He's not a dog."

"**I don't suppose you have coins for passage. Normally, with adults, you see, I could charge your American Express, or add the ferry price to your last cable bill. But with children... alas, you never die prepared. Suppose you'll have to take a seat for a few centuries."**

"That's nice," snorted Apollo.

"**Oh, but we have coins." I set three golden drachmas on the counter, part of the stash I'd found in Crusty's office desk.**

Hades chuckled. "Charon is a sucker for drachmas. But that could also make him suspicious, because no ordinary mortal would carry around drachmas in their pockets."

Rachel raised her hand. "What about me, Lord Hades? I'm a mortal, and I carry around drachmas in my pockets." She turned out her pockets, emptying the contents into her hand, and sure enough, there were a few drachmas.

"Are you an ordinary mortal now, Rachel Elizabeth Dare?" Hades asked her skeptically, raising an eyebrow. "You host the spirit of Delphi. I daresay that isn't ordinary in any way."

"**Well, now..." Charon moistened his lips. "Real drachmas. Real golden drachmas. I haven't seen these in..."**

**His fingers hovered greedily over the coins. **

**We were so close.**

Artemis shook her head. "With his luck, shouldn't he know that that'd jinx it?"

Thalia laughed. "Oh, my lady, he's not that bright. But we love him anyway." Her eyes twinkled. "Just not in the way Annabeth here loves him."

Annabeth pushed her quite violently. "Shut up, Thals!"

**Then Charon looked at me. That cold stare behind his glasses seemed to bore a hole through my chest. "Here now," he said. "You couldn't read my name correctly. Are you dyslexic, lad?"**

"Jinxed indeed," muttered Poseidon, sounding disappointed. "How will they get past _this_ obstacle?"

"**No," I said. "I'm dead."**

"Way to state the untrue," muttered Hephaestus.

**Charon leaned forward and took a sniff. "You're not dead. I should've known. You're a godling."**

"I hate that phrase," sighed Katie. "Is _demigod_ too hard to say?"

"**We have to get to the Underworld," I insisted.**

"Better than to deny it," approved Hermes.

**Charon made a growling sound deep in his throat. **

**Immediately, all the people in the waiting room got up and started pacing, agitated, lighting cigarettes, running hands through their hair, or checking their wristwatches.**

"Restlessness is never a good thing with them," Hades grumbled. "Then I have to deal with them, complaining about waiting for centuries, and about their placements. Bloody annoying, they are."

"**Leave while you can," Charon told us. "I'll just take these and forget I saw you."**

**He started to go for the coins, but I snatched them back. **

"**No service, no tip." I tried to sound braver than I felt. **

"He'd really do anything for his mother," Hestia observed, almost in wonder.

"He's a good boy," agreed Hera.

Jason and Thalia exchanged glances, snorting quietly. Leave it to the Queen of the Gods to approve more of her nephew than of her stepchildren.

**Charon growled again – a deep, blood-chilling sound. The spirits of the dead started pounding on the elevator doors.**

"**It's a shame, too," I sighed. "We had more to offer."**

"Blackmail," cheered Travis.

"Brilliant," added Connor.

**I held up the entire bag from Crusty's stash. I took out a fistful of drachmas and let the coins spill through my fingers.**

**Charon's growl changed into something more like a lion's purr. "Do you think I can be bought, godling? Eh... just out of curiosity, how much have you got there?"**

"Just out of curiosity, of course," chuckled Will.

"**A lot," I said. "I bet Hades doesn't pay you well enough for such hard work."**

Hades rolled his eyes. "I pay him enough," he said simply.

"**Oh, you don't know the half of it. How would you like to babysit these spirits all day? Always 'Please don't let me be dead' or 'Please let me across for free.' I haven't had a pay raise in three thousand years. Do you imagine suits like this come cheap?"**

"Probably not," replied Demeter. "Some good cereal could bribe the sellers, though!"

"Most definitely _not_," muttered Apollo.

"And _three thousand years_? How does the poor god _survive_, Uncle?" asked Dionysus incredulously. "Do tell me you at least give him a good selection of wines?"

Hades rolled his eyes and decided against answering.

"**You deserve better," I agreed. "A little appreciation. Respect. Good pay."**

"He better not be implying that I don't give Charon appreciation, respect, or good pay," Hades growled.

"You probably don't," Athena pointed out. "From what Hermes told me, Charon's pretty miserable."

Hermes shrunk away from his uncle's cold, unforgiving glare, trying to muster up an innocent smile, but failing epically.

**With each word, I stacked another gold coin on the counter.**

**Charon glanced down at his silk Italian jacket, as if imagining himself in something even better. "I must say, lad, you're making some sense now. Just a little."**

**I stacked another few coins. "I could mention a pay raise while I'm talking to Hades."**

"Like that would do anything," Poseidon said. "Hades is as stubborn as they come, especially when it comes to his precious money."

**He sighed. "The boat's almost full, anyway. I might as well add you three and be off."**

**He stood, scooped up our money, and said, "Come along."**

"He cracked!" cheered Nico.

"Of course he did, don't you suppose Sally would still be there if he didn't?" Annabeth asked Nico curiously.

Nico flushed, but stayed silent.

**We pushed through the crowd of waiting spirits, who started grabbing at our clothes like the wind, their voices whispering things I couldn't make out. Charon shoved them out of the way, grumbling, "Freeloaders."**

"They won't be getting anywhere for a couple thousand years," guessed Reyna, and her thoughts were confirmed when Hades nodded grimly.

**He escorted us into the elevator, which was already crowded with souls of the dead, each one holding a green boarding pass. Charon grabbed two spirits who were trying to get on with us and pushed them back into the lobby. **

"**Right. Now, no one get any ideas while I'm gone," he announced to the waiting room. "And if anyone moves the dial off my easy-listening station again, I'll make sure you're here for another thousand years. Understand?"**

"Quite a harsh punishment," Piper remarked, eyes wide.

Aphrodite's kaleidoscope eyes were just as wide as she nodded in agreement. "A thousand years may feel like nothing to us, but to those poor mortals!"

"Father _did_ put me with those brats for a century," Dionysus pointed out.

**He shut the doors. He put a key card into a slot in the elevator panel and we started to descend. **

"How modern," Octavian snarked.

"**What happens to the spirits waiting in the lobby?" Annabeth asked. **

"Nothing," Hades replied crisply.

Annabeth smiled as she read the next line.

"**Nothing," Charon said. **

"It's true," Hades said, shrugging.

"**For how long?"**

"**Forever, or until I'm feeling generous."**

"**Oh," she said. "That's... fair."**

"Death isn't fair," Hades informed the group.

"And life is?" asked Frank bitterly, thinking of the stick his life depended on.

**Charon raised an eyebrow. "Whoever said death was fair, young miss? Wait until it's your turn. You'll die soon enough, where you're going."**

"**We'll get out alive," I said.**

"No you won't, overconfidence never gets you anywhere," Hades snapped.

"There's a difference between overconfidence and optimism, Lord Hades," Athena told him quietly. "Overconfidence can sometimes be classified as arrogance, and it isn't favorable. Optimism, however, is the mindset that drives you."

"Technicalities," snorted Hades, waving her off.

"**Ha."**

**I got a sudden dizzy feeling. We weren't going down anymore, but forward. The air turned misty. Spirits around me started changing shape. Their modern clothes flickered, turning into gray hooded robes. The floor of the elevator began swaying. **

"That could be creepy," commented Leo.

"Could be?" mumbled Annabeth. "Try being there."

"Read," Leo told her, shrugging.

**I blinked hard. When I opened my eyes, Charon's creamy Italian suit had been replaced by a long black robe. His tortoiseshell glasses were gone. Where his eyes should've been were empty sockets-like Ares's eyes, except Charon's were totally dark, full of night and death and despair. **

"Death and despair. How depressing," murmured Demeter. "How could my girl survive in that environment?"

"Love can take you anywhere on Earth," Aphrodite told her wisely, her eyes sparkling. Then they snapped to Hades sharply, but she didn't say anything, hoping that the dense death god could figure it out himself.

**He saw me looking, and said, "Well?"**

"**Nothing," I managed.**

**I thought he was grinning, but that wasn't it. The flesh of his face was becoming transparent, letting me see straight through to his skull.**

"That must be even creepier," Leo commented, looking slightly green.

Reyna's face stayed impassive, but on the inside, like everyone else, she agreed with Leo. Seeing straight through someone's skull couldn't have been a pleasant image.

"It wasn't," Annabeth told her, and she realized she had spoken aloud.

The praetor blushed slightly, completely out of character.

Jason smiled at her. "Don't worry, Na-Na. You're only human."

"Don't call me that atrocious nickname, Jason," Reyna snapped, though her mind was whirling on its own.

Piper scowled.

**The floor kept swaying. **

**Grover said, "I think I'm getting seasick."**

**When I blinked again, the elevator wasn't an elevator anymore. We were standing in a wooden barge. Charon was poling us across a dark, oily river, swirling with bones, dead fish, and other, stranger things – plastic dolls, crushed car-nations, soggy diplomas with gilt edges. **

Hades shivered. "The Styx."

"I've heard that it was polluted… just not _this_ polluted," remarked Reyna, looking concerned, and trying to redeem herself.

"**The River Styx," Annabeth murmured. "It's so..."**

"**Polluted," Charon said. "For thousands of years, you humans have been throwing in everything as you come across – hopes, dreams, wishes that never came true. Irresponsible waste management, if you ask me."**

"But hopes and dreams don't all come true. Some people don't have enough drive and determination to make them come true," murmured Katie quietly.

**Mist curled off the filthy water. Above us, almost lost in the gloom, was a ceiling of stalactites. Ahead, the far shore glimmered with greenish light, the color of poison. **

**Panic closed up my throat. What was I doing here? These people around me... they were dead.**

"You're there to save your mother," Hera reminded the book-Percy.

**Annabeth grabbed hold of my hand. Under normal circumstances, this would've embarrassed me, but I understood how she felt. She wanted reassurance that somebody else was alive on this boat. **

Surprisingly, no one made a snarky comment, but Hestia did say gently to Athena, "That son of Poseidon is quite respectable, niece. I don't see why your daughter shouldn't be seeing him."

Athena didn't answer, simply because she respected the goddess too much to risk losing her temper.

Annabeth smiled secretly at Hestia as she restarted her reading.

**I found myself muttering a prayer, though I wasn't quite sure who I was praying to. Down here, only one god mattered, and he was the one I had come to confront. **

"Like he'd ever grant a son of mine's prayer," Poseidon muttered. "Sibling rivalry can do that to people."

"Have you ever granted a son of mine's prayer?" Hades challenged him.

Poseidon shrugged, glancing at Nico. "Have I?"

Nico chuckled. "Plenty of times, Lord Poseidon, don't worry." He was only half-lying. After all, the god _had_ provided him with a good friend in Percy. It wasn't exactly _planned_, of course, and the strains had taken their toll, but they were still friends.

**The shoreline of the Underworld came into view. Craggy rocks and black volcanic sand stretched inland about a hundred yards to the base of a high stone wall, which marched off in either direction as far as we could see. A sound came from somewhere nearby in the green gloom, echoing off the stones – the howl of a large animal.**

Demeter winced. "Oh, my poor daughter. That sounds very depressing."

Hades rolled his eyes.

"**Old Three-Face is hungry," Charon said. His smile turned skeletal in the greenish light. "Bad luck for you, godlings."**

"Old Three-Face…" repeated Athena. "Oh! Cerberus!"

"Kind of obvious, yes, Mother?" asked Annabeth, and, without pausing for an answer, turned back to her book.

**The bottom of our boat slid onto the black sand. The dead began to disembark. A woman holding a little girl's hand. An old man and an old woman hobbling along arm in arm. A boy no older than I was, shuffling silently along in his gray robe. **

"That's very sad," remarked Hestia. "A child that young dying."

"Children of all ages die," Hades told his sister. "Newborns, toddlers, kids, teenagers, young adults."

**Charon said, "I'd wish you luck, mate, but there isn't any down here. Mind you, don't forget to mention my pay raise."**

"That's all he worries about?" asked Hera incredulously.

"Yes, well, all you worry about is a perfect family," Ares snapped.

**He counted our golden coins into his pouch, then took up his pole. He warbled something that sounded like a Barry Manilow song as he ferried the empty barge back across the river. **

**We followed the spirits up a well-worn path. **

"Thousands of years old," Hazel pointed out. "Of course it would be well-worn."

**I'm not sure what I was expecting – Pearly Gates, or a big black portcullis, or something. But the entrance to the Underworld looked like a cross between airport security and the Jersey Turnpike. **

"Pleasant," commented Artemis dryly.

**There were three separate entrances under one huge black archway that said YOU ARE NOW ENTERING EREBUS. Each entrance had a pass-through metal detector with security cameras mounted on top. Beyond this were tollbooths manned by black-robed ghouls like Charon.**

"Definitely airport-like. Just without the black-robed ghouls," Travis agreed.

**The howling of the hungry animal was really loud now, but I couldn't see where it was coming from. **

"Somewhere close," Hades said cryptically and mysteriously, smirking.

**The three-headed dog, Cerberus, who was supposed to guard Hades's door, was nowhere to be seen.**

"Oh, he guards it all right," Hermes told the group, shivering involuntarily.

"Couldn't play a successful prank on the canine, Hermes?" teased Athena.

Hermes scowled and decided it was best to stay silent.

**The dead queued up in the three lines, two marked ATTENDANT ON DUTY, and one marked EZ DEATH. The EZ DEATH line was moving right along. The other two were crawling. **

"Oh, the EZ Death line. My favorite by far," Hades informed everyone. "They rarely cause tiffs."

"**What do you figure?" I asked Annabeth.**

"**The fast line must go straight to the Asphodel Fields," she said. "No contest. They don't want to risk judgment from the court, because it might go against them."**

"She's right," Hades said. "Cowards, the lot of them."

"If I did something bad, I'd probably go there too. And if I never did anything heroic, I'd probably go there as well because I'd rather not wait in a slowly crawling line for who-knows how many years just to get the same verdict," Nico told his father truthfully.

"Like he'd ever send you to Asphodel. You'd probably live in the palace with him," Thalia reminded Nico.

"**There's a court for dead people?"**

"**Yeah. Three judges. They switch around who sits on the bench. King Minos, Thomas Jefferson, Shakespeare – people like that. Sometimes they look at a life and decide that person needs a special reward – the Fields of Elysium. Sometimes they decide on punishment. **

"Tartarus," Annabeth filled in for the word her younger self had not spoken.

**But most people, well, they just lived. Nothing special, good or bad. So they go to the Asphodel Fields."**

"**And do what?"**

**Grover said, "Imagine standing in a wheat field in Kansas. Forever."**

"**Harsh," I said. **

"Harsh?" gasped Demeter. "A wheat field? That would be amazing!" She looked imploringly at her brother. "My daughter spends all her time in Asphodel, doesn't she? I'm positive she does!"

Hades snorted. "She's in love with Elysium, dear sister, _not_ Asphodel. In fact, she's a bit terrified of those fields."

"**Not as harsh as that," Grover muttered. "Look."**

"The Tartarus condemned?" guessed Hazel shrewdly.

Annabeth nodded.

**A couple of black-robed ghouls had pulled aside one spirit and were frisking him at the security desk. The face of the dead man looked vaguely familiar.**

Hades raised an eyebrow. "He knows someone who is going to Tartarus?"

"Vaguely," Poseidon told him. "He said _vaguely_. If they were close, he would recognize the man immediately, and it's a _man_. I highly doubt Percy interacts with many men, from what we've seen of Smelly Gabe."

"**He's that preacher who made the news, remember?" Grover asked. **

"A _preacher_ is going to Tartarus?" asked Rachel in disbelief.

"**Oh, yeah." I did remember now. We'd seen him on TV a couple of times at the Yancy Academy dorm. He was this annoying televangelist from upstate New York who'd raised millions of dollars for orphanages and then got caught spending the money on stuff for his mansion, like gold-plated toilet seats, and an indoor putt-putt golf course. **

"That's cruel," Artemis said disapprovingly. "It's just like a man to do that, too. Spending well-earned money for children on luxuries that he could have lived without."

"You're very prejudiced at times, Lady Artemis, and I mean it with all due respect," Katie said, and her voice did sound quite respectful.

Artemis looked shocked and offended, and Thalia looked ready to pounce if need be to defend her lady.

"Excuse me?" spluttered Artemis.

Katie smiled pleasantly. "Not _all_ men would do that. One in billions did it. To judge a whole species on just a few is not fair."

"I've seen plenty of disrespectful, unworthy men, I assure you, daughter of Demeter," Artemis responded coolly.

"Plenty, but not _all_ men who crossed your path were unworthy," Annabeth jumped in, siding with Katie. "It isn't scientifically possible."

"All right, all right," Athena intervened, hoping to divert an argument for not only Annabeth and Katie's sake, but for her half-sister's as well. "Daughter, read on."

**He'd died in a police chase when his "Lamborghini for the Lord" went off a cliff. **

"He probably bought _that_ with the money too," Hera observed darkly.

"Lamborghinis are _radical_. Punks like him shouldn't own one. He should have sacrificed it to me." Ares nodded in agreement with himself.

**I said, "What're they doing to him?"**

"**Special punishment from Hades," Grover guessed. **

"Oh, they're not _that_ honored. At least, not all of them are," Hades said.

"**The really bad people get his personal attention as soon as they arrive. The Fur – the Kindly Ones will set up an eternal torture for him."**

"They sure as Hades aren't kindly," mumbled Piper.

"At all," Reyna agreed.

Piper wasn't sure as to how to take the praetor's agreement, but when Jason squeezed her hand, she decided to smile timidly back. As was custom, the praetor just stared back impassively, but there was a smile in her eyes.

**The thought of the Furies made me shudder. I realized I was in their home territory now. Old Mrs. Dodds would be licking her lips with anticipation.**

"For a yummy, scrumptious Percy dishy!" cheered Apollo.

"Right…"

"**But if he's a preacher," I said, "and he believes in a ****different hell…"**

**Grover shrugged. "Who says he's seeing this place the way we're seeing it? Humans see what they want to see. You're very stubborn – er, persistent, that way."**

Leo chuckled. "No one calls Leo Valdez stubborn!"

"Stubbornness isn't a bad thing," Frank told him. "Persistence isn't either."

**We got closer to the gates. The howling was so loud now it shook the ground at my feet, but I still couldn't figure out where it was coming from.**

**Then, about fifty feet in front of us, the green mist shimmered. Standing just where the path split into three lanes was an enormous shadowy monster.**

"Cerberus!" sang Hermes.

Apollo shook his head sadly. "You're a master of many things, my dear brother, but singing _isn't_ one of them." He brightened. "Hey, I could give you personal lessons! Just two hundred drachmas per session!"

"No thanks," Hermes replied dryly. "I'm not sure if you're up to the job."

**I hadn't seen it before because it was half transparent, like the dead. Until it moved, it blended with whatever was behind it. Only its eyes and teeth looked solid. And it was staring straight at me. **

"Scary," remarked Will.

"He is," agreed Annabeth.

**My jaw hung open. All I could think to say was, "He's a Rottweiler."**

Annabeth almost couldn't finish the line, she was laughing so hard at the memory. There they were, about to be killed, and all Seaweed Brain could think of to say was what breed of dog the mythical creature was.

"Only Percy?" guessed Jason.

"Only Coral Creep," confirmed Thalia.

"Getting creative with the nicknames!" Nico complimented her.

**I'd always imagined Cerberus as a big black mastiff. But he was obviously a purebred Rottweiler, except of course that he was twice the size of a woolly mammoth, mostly invisible, and had three heads.**

"Yep, a minor difference," Apollo commented sarcastically.

**The dead walked right up to him – no fear at all. **

"They don't _have_ anything to fear," Hades said quietly. "Cerberus won't hurt the dead. The living, on the other hand…" He trailed off, expecting his wife to finish his statement, but recalled that she wasn't there. "Why do you suppose mortals rarely exit the Underworld alive? If not for my pet, for me."

**The ATTENDANT ON DUTY lines parted on either side of him. The EZ DEATH spirits walked right between his front paws and under his belly, which they could do without even crouching. **

"**I'm starting to see him better," I muttered. "Why is that?"**

"**I think..." Annabeth moistened her lips. "I'm afraid it's because we're getting closer to being dead."**

"Isn't that cheerful," muttered Hephaestus.

"Brilliant," Dionysus agreed.

"I want a Cerberus! He gets clearer whenever you get close to death!" cheered Travis.

**The dog's middle head craned toward us. It sniffed the air and growled.**

"**It can smell the living," I said.**

"**But that's okay," Grover said, trembling next to me. "Because we have a plan."**

"Plan? Like a plan could get past Cerberus," Hades snorted.

"**Right," Annabeth said. I'd never heard her voice sound quite so small. "A plan."**

**We moved toward the monster.**

"I don't think the dog would like being called that," Hades commented conversationally.

"Like we're talking about the weather," said Katie in disbelief.

**The middle head snarled at us, then barked so loud my eyeballs rattled.**

Several people winced, especially Aphrodite.

"**Can you understand it?" I asked Grover. **

"**Oh yeah," he said. "I can understand it."**

"**What's it saying?"**

"**I don't think humans have a four-letter word that translates, exactly."**

"Pleasant. The mutt could do well with some cereal," Demeter told Hades. "Be sure to feed him just that. It'll help."

"Never in eternity," Hades snapped in response.

**I took the big stick out of my backpack – a bedpost I'd broken off Crusty's Safari Deluxe floor model. I held it up, and tried to channel happy dog thoughts toward Cerberus-Alpo commercials, cute little puppies, fire hydrants. I tried to smile, like I wasn't about to die. **

"That'll work," commented Connor sarcastically.

"**Hey, Big Fella," I called up. "I bet they don't play with you much."**

"Of course we don't!" scoffed Hades. "We have much more important things to do. Of course, we don't _neglect_ him… but still…"

"**GROWWWLLLL!"**

"**Good boy," I said weakly. **

**I waved the stick. The dog's middle head followed the movement. The other two heads trained their eyes on me, completely ignoring the spirits. I had Cerberus's undivided attention. I wasn't sure that was a good thing. **

"**Fetch!" I threw the stick into the gloom, a good solid throw. I heard it go kersploosh in the River Styx. **

"More pollution, yay," spoke up Hades sarcastically.

**Cerberus glared at me, unimpressed. His eyes were baleful and cold. **

"I see you've trained him well," Aphrodite said dryly.

**So much for the plan. **

**Cerberus was now making a new kind of growl, deeper down in his three throats. **

"**Um," Grover said. "Percy?"**

"Saying something, I think," Hades told the group.

"**Yeah?"**

"**I just thought you'd want to know."**

"**Yeah?"**

"**Cerberus? He's saying we've got ten seconds to pray to the god of our choice. After that... well... he's hungry."**

"That's the light way of putting it," Reyna guessed.

"Yeah, he was trying not to alarm us too much," Annabeth replied, rolling her eyes.

"**Wait!" Annabeth said. She started rifling through her pack. **

_**Uh-oh,**_** I thought. **

"**Five seconds," Grover said. "Do we run now?"**

**Annabeth produced a red rubber ball the size of a grapefruit. It was labeled WATERLAND, DENVER, CO. Before I could stop her, she raised the ball and marched straight up to Cerberus. **

**She shouted, "See the ball? You want the ball, Cerberus? Sit!"**

"Oh my gods," murmured Katie.

"You're trying to _train_ him?" demanded Thalia.

"Are you _crazy_?" jumped in Piper.

Annabeth smiled sheepishly, and to ignore their incredulous stares, looked back down at the book to continue.

**Cerberus looked as stunned as we were. **

"I'd be stunned too," admitted Zeus. "No one, as far as I remember, would try to play ball with the three-headed beast."

"Don't call him a beast, brother," warned Hades.

**All three of his heads cocked sideways. Six nostrils dilated. **

"**Sit!" Annabeth called again.**

**I was sure that any moment she would become the world's largest Milkbone dog biscuit.**

"Optimistic," commented Leo.

**But instead, Cerberus licked his three sets of lips, shifted on his haunches, and sat, immediately crushing a dozen spirits who'd been passing underneath him in the EZ DEATH line. The spirits made muffled hisses as they dissipated, like the air let out of tires.**

Several people let out snorting laughs, picturing that in their heads.

**Annabeth said, "Good boy!"**

**She threw Cerberus the ball. **

**He caught it in his middle mouth. It was barely big enough for him to chew, and the other heads started snapping at the middle, trying to get the new toy. **

"That must be entertaining," remarked Poseidon, trying to let go of the fact that his son may be walking directly to his death.

"**Drop it." Annabeth ordered. **

**Cerberus whimpered, but he stayed where he was. **

"**What about you?" I asked Annabeth as we passed her. **

"Doubting my daughter's abilities, is he?" asked Athena haughtily.

"**I know what I'm doing, Percy," she muttered. "At least, I'm pretty sure..."**

**Grover and I walked between the monster's legs. **

_**Please, Annabeth,**_** I prayed. **_**Don't tell him to sit again.**_

"Like I would," said Annabeth, rolling her eyes and glancing up from the words. "I'm not _stupid_."

**We made it through. Cerberus wasn't any less scary-looking from the back. **

"Unfortunately, he isn't," Hermes agreed sadly.

**Annabeth said, "Good dog!"**

**She held up the tattered red ball, and probably came to the same conclusion I did-if she rewarded Cerberus, there'd be nothing left for another trick. **

**She threw the ball anyway. The monster's left mouth immediately snatched it up, only to be attacked by the middle head, while the right head moaned in protest. **

"Smart," approved Athena.

**While the monster was distracted, Annabeth walked briskly under its belly and joined us at the metal detector. **

"**How did you do that?" I asked her, amazed. **

"**Obedience school," she said breathlessly, and I was surprised to see there were tears in her eyes. "When I was little, at my dad's house, we had a Doberman..."**

"That's terrible, how her father just neglected her," sympathized Hestia.

Athena gritted her teeth, biting back a defending word for the father of her daughter.

"**Never mind that," Grover said, tugging at my shirt. "Come on!"**

**We were about to bolt through the EZ DEATH line when Cerberus moaned pitifully from all three mouths. Annabeth stopped. **

"No," gasped Demeter. "Cereal! Bring cereal!" A bowl popped in front of her. "Stopping is bad," she lectured Annabeth, who rolled her eyes.

**She turned to face the dog, which had done a one-eighty to look at us. **

**Cerberus panted expectantly, the tiny red ball in pieces in a puddle of drool at its feet. **

"Ew!" squealed Aphrodite.

"**Good boy," Annabeth said, but her voice sounded melancholy and uncertain. **

**The monster's heads turned sideways, as if worried about her. **

"Don't worry, old beast, you're not the only one," said Travis cheerfully.

Annabeth gave him a death glare. "Had I not been holding a book and wanting to finish the chapter so I can see my boyfriend, I'd kill you right here and now, Stoll."

"**I'll bring you another ball soon," Annabeth promised faintly. "Would you like that?"**

**The monster whimpered. I didn't need to speak dog to know Cerberus was still waiting for the ball. **

"**Good dog. I'll come visit you soon. I-I promise." Annabeth turned to us. "Let's go."**

**Grover and I pushed through the metal detector, which immediately screamed and set off flashing red lights. "Unauthorized possessions! Magic detected!"**

"Of course," sighed Poseidon. "Metal detector."

**Cerberus started to bark. **

**We burst through the EZ DEATH gate, which started even more alarms blaring, and raced into the Underworld. **

"And more alarms," cheered Hermes.

**A few minutes later, we were hiding, out of breath, in the rotten trunk of an immense black tree as security ghouls scuttled past, yelling for backup from the Furies. **

"Usually hiding wouldn't work, but it seems the ghouls in the future are stupid," groaned Hades. "Just perfect.""

**Grover murmured, "Well, Percy, what have we learned today?"**

"**That three-headed dogs prefer red rubber balls over sticks?"**

"**No," Grover told me. "We've learned that your plans really, really bite!"**

"Terrible pun," groaned Rachel.

"All puns are terrible," Hazel told her.

"Especially by Greeks," muttered Octavian to himself.

**I wasn't sure about that. I thought maybe Annabeth and I had both had the right idea. Even here in the Underworld, everybody – even monsters – needed a little attention once in a while. **

"Very true," agreed Hestia, smiling warmly.

**I thought about that as we waited for the ghouls to pass. I pretended not to see Annabeth wipe a tear from her cheek as she listened to the mournful keening of Cerberus in the distance, longing for his new friend. **

"Sweet," cooed Aphrodite.

Annabeth rolled her eyes, and just as she was closing the book, the long awaited flash of white light was seen, blinding everyone, but hardly anyone minded. Dropping the book, Annabeth jumped to her feet, ready to greet her boyfriend the moment this stupid white light went away.

And then it began to fade.

x.o.x.o.x.

A/N: Sorry for my late update! Hope it was good! And I just love writing cliffhangers. ;) For an English assignment, we had to write the next chapter of a book in one page, and I chose Mark of Athena. So if you want to read it, just PM me your email address and I'll send it to you! See you next time!


	21. In-Between Chapter

A/N: Time to put you out of your misery. ;) Not a real chapter, I suppose, but it introduces Percy, so… yeah. Anyway, I hope I can characterize him well! 

x.o.x.o.x.

By the time the white light had faded completely, Thalia, Nico, Hazel, and Frank had all joined Annabeth on their feet, staring reverently at the spot where the light had seemed brightest.

And the light was gone, all in a split second. And there stood Perseus Jackson, son of Poseidon, and a whole bunch of other titles, with his sea-green eyes and black hair. He looked around for a second, gathering his bearings, but he barely had time to register where he was when all he could see was a head of blonde and feel was a pair of arms wrapped tightly around him.

By now, the rest of the readers, except for Octavian, had risen to their feet, ready to greet the hero.

"Hey Wise Girl," Percy said, smiling sheepishly at the daughter of Athena.

And then he was suddenly on the ground. Hazel and Frank rushed forward, their Roman instincts taking over, but Reyna motioned them back, her eyes steady on the couple.

Tears evident in her voice, Annabeth snapped at Percy, "That's what you get, you Seaweed Brain, for leaving me for so long! And don't you dare blame it on anybody else! It's your own fault!" But it was clear that she meant none of it, except for the very first sentence.

Again, Percy smiled sheepishly and got back on his feet. "Maybe I did deserve it," he responded ruefully, hugging her again. "Good to see you, Wise Girl."

Hera, now at human height, strode toward them. "I really hate to break up this lovely reunion, but we should break for lunch. Why don't we get the son of Poseidon situated in his guest room, and then his friends can reunite with him one by one?"

"I'll stay with him," Annabeth volunteered, too overcome with happiness to even be slightly angry at the Queen of the Gods.

Deciding it was useless to argue, Hera nodded briskly, and turned to her fellow Olympians. "You're welcome to as well. Lunch will be served in an hour and a half." And then she swept out of the throne room, keeping up her façade, despite wanting to engage the intriguing boy in a long conversation.

x.o.x.o.x.

Annabeth and Percy were perched in a green loveseat that matched Percy's eyes perfectly as they waited for the first of their friends to be sent in.

"I can't believe I'm seeing you," whispered Annabeth, leaning into him.

Grinning and running his fingers once through her hair, Percy replied lightly, "I hope you are. We wouldn't want you to get glasses now, would we?"

Annabeth chuckled. "Already cracking the jokes, are we?"

"Always, Wise Girl, always," responded Percy, kissing her quickly on the cheek as the door opened and Reyna walked in.

She shifted uncomfortably as she seated herself in the single armchair across from the couple. "Percy," she said finally, and her face cracked into the tiniest of smiles. "It's wonderful to see you again, my fellow praetor."

Percy grinned at her as well. "For me, Reyna, I saw you a few minutes ago," he replied. "But yeah. Nice to see you too."

"Percy!" admonished Annabeth, slapping him teasingly on the shoulder. "Be nice!"

"I am!" protested Percy. "And anyway, with the… er, minimal amount we've worked together, Reyna knows all my… bad tendencies. Right, Reyna?"

Chuckling, Reyna nodded. "Perhaps not _all_, but quite a few. Sarcasm becomes a regular daily routine if you're around this male for a while."

Annabeth nodded in agreement. "Sarcasm isn't a contagious disease, but with him, you'd think otherwise," she joked.

Percy feigned offense. "How could you _say_ such a thing?"

Rolling her eyes, Reyna rose from her seat and told them, "It was wonderful talking to you, Percy, but I believe your Greek friends would have more to say. After all, they haven't been separated from you for as short a time as I have."

Smiling truly now, Reyna exited, and within moments, Rachel Elizabeth Dare had jumped inside, throwing herself on Percy immediately. "Perce! It's awesome to see you! Lord Apollo never let me see much into your future!"

Percy laughed, ruffling her hair fondly. "Much?"

Rachel grinned sheepishly. "So where've you been?"

"New Rome," Percy responded. "But, oh-all-knowing one, shouldn't you know that?"

"The Oracle will speak when it wishes," Rachel replied dramatically.

Annabeth giggled. "Overdramatic as usual, Rachel."

Chuckling as well, Rachel rises to leave.

Travis and Connor come in next, a joint venture. "Perce!"

"You worried us!"

"But we kept playing pranks…"

"And kept our mind off you…"

"But it was kind of hard…"

"Because Annie here kept talking about you…"

"Day after day…"

"Week after week…"

"Month after month," finished Travis.

Percy stared at them for a moment, before grinning and grabbing both in a hug. "I missed you guys."

"Missed you too!" the Stoll brothers chorused in unison, and then Connor made a face. "This is getting too sappy. Can we pull a prank on Athena?"

Annabeth narrowed her eyes, but didn't say anything, wanting to see her boyfriend's reaction, to see if he would be the "bigger person".

He didn't disappoint… at first. "No," he told the boys sharply. Then he grinned. "I just don't want her to blow up and say that I can't date Wise Girl. But if you make sure I had no part in it…"

"You're such a Seaweed Brain," groaned Annabeth. "Can't you mature once in a while?"

Percy smiled at her. "I spent my teenage years fighting monsters straight out of Tartarus. Time to be immature with these guys, right?"

Cheering and clapping Percy on the back, Travis and Connor exited with the promise of sending in two more people.

Those two people turned out to be Nico and Thalia.

"Algae Arse!" cried Thalia, and threw herself on him. "Nice of you to tell us where you were!"

"You're welcome," returned Percy, before turning to Nico. "Well, Skeleton Sharpie?"

"Skeleton Sharpie?" asked Nico, stifling a laugh.

Percy shrugged. "You like Sharpies, don't you? And you like Skeletons too! So… Skeleton Sharpie."

"You're weird, Perce," was Nico's simple response, not wanting to knock Percy off his high horse so soon after his arrival.

"Oh, I'm just kidding, Death Breath," Percy told him, clapping him on the shoulder. "It's awesome to see you guys again." He stared thoughtfully at Thalia. "Hmm. We haven't killed each other yet."

Remembering what Annabeth had once told her, Thalia laughed. "Not often Annabeth is wrong. But she isn't, is she? She did say we're really alike."

"Just don't go off for eight months," warned Annabeth, "like this imbecile did."

"I'm wounded!"

x.o.x.o.x.

The first of the gods to enter to greet Percy was, surprisingly, Artemis herself. She simply stood silently for a moment, appraising him.

Finally, she said with grudging respect, "You don't seem as disrespectful as other men, despite your sarcasm shown in the books. But judging by how you have five books written about you… you must have done some commendable feats." She paused, slightly startled to not see an expression of arrogance and smugness on the boy's face. "So I won't judge you until we've finished them."

"Thank you, Lady Artemis," Percy thanked her in an uncharacteristically polite voice. "I appreciate it, because prejudging people can't ever turn out well."

Artemis looked surprised again at his maturity. Maturity, snorted Annabeth, but when the goddess glanced at her, she simply straightened and looked like the dignified daughter of Athena that she was.

As the goddess exited the room, Percy asked Annabeth, "We're reading books about my life?"

Annabeth nodded.

"And we all take turns reading?" Another nod. "So is it in English, Ancient Greek, or Latin?"

Looking surprised, Annabeth thought about it for a while. "Well, a deity, a Roman, _and_ a Greek have at least read it, so I'll guess that it adapts to its reader. For us, it's most likely Greek, and for the Romans, it'll be in Latin, and for the gods, either one or English."

Percy smiled at her. "Wise as always, Wise Girl."

Before Annabeth could reply, the door opened with a swift aroma of sea, and Poseidon entered.

For a moment, they sat in comfortable silence, Poseidon appraising the son he had not known, and Percy examining a version of his father years before they met.

"Perseus," Poseidon finally said.

"Dad," Percy responded.

x.o.x.o.x.

After a long heart-to-heart, the two demigods and the Sea God made their way to the dining hall, where they indulged in a fabulous lunch.

Athena kept eyeing Percy throughout the meal, just as Octavian was. Finally, the latter said, "Decided to send us here so that you could go through with the idiotic plan you made, then, _praetor_?"

Calmly, Percy replied, "I didn't send you here, Octavian. In fact, back in New Rome, you" – he pointed to Reyna, Hazel, Frank, and Octavian – "have only been gone for about a minute. I know that because I was watching you four during dinner." He grinned.

"Stalker much?" teased Hazel, smiling at the friend she had missed dearly even though it had been a short amount of time they had been apart.

"You know you love it," returned Percy with a smile of his own.

Annabeth laughed, not feeling threatened at all. To be honest, she doubted if she would ever be able to be threatened again, not after losing Percy like that and knowing that he was still faithful and in love with her after eight months.

The Queen of the Gods was regarding Percy in fierce interest. Except for calling the shots before they dispersed, she had not said a word to the son of the sea god yet. She broke that streak now, asking, "Have you seen your mother lately, Perseus?"

Percy looked startled and glanced at Annabeth, his look clearly saying, _Isn't she supposed to be on the warpath, ready to kill us?_ Stifling a laugh, Annabeth made no acknowledgement. Finally, he responded, "No, I haven't." He looked surprised. He seemed to have gained his memory back since traveling back in time.

As if reading his mind, Annabeth began to ponder this, her analytic brain sorting through every theory, every possibility, as Hera, Demeter, and Hestia scolded Percy, albeit the last was gently as always, about not visiting his mother often enough.

"In case you've forgotten, I've been lost for eight months, barely holding onto my memory," Percy said quietly. "I would visit Mom if I could."

"Unswervingly loyal and blunt as always," teased Rachel, attempting to break the silence.

Percy just smiled back at her, though it didn't reach his eyes.

"Have some vegetables, Percy," urged Katie, unable to fight the natural instinct to make sure everyone at the table got the proper amount of vegetables. Demeter beamed at her daughter as Percy frowned.

"If I eat too many, I might become one," he joked. Then he glanced around the table, taking mental roll of who was present. Looking surprised, he asked, "Wasn't Lady Persephone invited to join you for the reading?"

This caused thick tension to arise again as everyone averted their eyes from the god of death, except for Ares, who continued eating with gusto.

"She's in the Underworld," replied Will evasively, being the first to brave the consequences.

Percy gazed at him long and hard, but said nothing more on the matter.

Hades, on the other hand, had dissimilar ideas. "Of course she was invited. For some odd reason, she stormed off."

"Because you offended her!" exclaimed Demeter, jumping immediately to her daughter's defense. "She still hasn't come back, and I know my stubborn girl. She won't until you go get her!"

Hades rolled his eyes. "Demeter, I've lived with Persephone for millennia. I know her good moods and her bad. Have you ever experienced a true Persephone fit?"

Demeter scoffed. "My _dear_ brother, I am her mother! Don't tell me what or what I haven't witnessed from my girl!"

"And none of you ever realized that he had to go?" asked Percy, including the gods into his question. "Lord Hades, the reading won't continue until Lady Persephone is here, okay?"

Several of his fellow demigods winced at his boldness to order around a god. Hades, also thinking along these lines, frowned as well, but he came to see sense. "Very well." He sighed, and disappeared.

While he was gone, the rest of the group moved to the throne room, where Percy was shown his seat in between Reyna and Annabeth. He sat down, looking around to see if anything had changed over the years until he got his first glimpse. Not much had.

With a whiff of pomegranates, flowers, and something that could only be classified as _fear_ or _death_, the rulers of the Underworld reappeared, and Persephone said nothing more to her husband, going to take her seat. Sighing in resignation, Hades did as well.

"Can I read?" asked Percy.

Travis was holding the book, flipping through it, and he tossed it to the son of Poseidon.

"Thanks. What chapter are you on?"

He was informed, and he flipped to the correct page, and began to read. He felt content, and so did those around him. The gods felt conflicted, but not even Athena knew how that was about to change. Percy could be quite persuasive in getting people to like him, and to be an enemy of Percy Jackson was not wise, despite his silliness and sarcasm.

x.o.x.o.x.

A/N: I'll completely understand if you decide to cyber-murder me. I'm really sorry, but I hit so many difficult situations in this chapter, and I probably will in the future. This was one of the reasons why I didn't want to put Percy in. He's a very hard character to characterize, as he's a complex character. That's just my opinion, of course. So, leave reviews, and hopefully next chapter will be up faster! Love you guys!


	22. We Find Out the Truth, Sort Of

A/N: My birthday is today! So maybe leave a few reviews as a present? I updated for your present… ;) Enjoy!

x.o.x.o.x.

**We Find Out the Truth, Sort Of,** read Percy.

"That's good," volunteered Hazel.

Remembering exactly what the truth was, Percy and Annabeth both winced.

Annabeth nodded for him to go on, which he did.

**Imagine the largest concert crowd you've ever seen, a football field packed with a million fans. **

Imagining that, Travis and Connor nodded. "Yeah?" they asked in unison.

**Now imagine a field a million times that big, packed with people, and imagine the electricity has gone out, and there is no noise, no light, no beach ball bouncing around over the crowd. **

Imagining that, Leo asked, "So?"

**Something tragic has happened backstage. Whispering masses of people are just milling around in the shadows, waiting for a concert that will never start.**

"Depressing. Waste of money," Frank ticked off.

"No," Hades told him. "The Fields of Asphodel."

"The in-between," clarified Athena with a wry smile. "Below Elysium and above Tartarus."

"Standing in that field for eternity," Artemis added.

"Sometimes not eternity," volunteered Hades, but no one agreed.

**If you can picture that, you have a pretty good idea what the Fields of Asphodel looked like. The black grass had been trampled by eons of dead feet. A warm, moist wind blew like the breath of a swamp. Black trees – Grover told me they were poplars – **

Thinking back on it, Percy snorted. "We could have been about to die at the age of twelve and I was worried about what kind of trees they were."

"That's just you, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth informed him with a fond smile as she leaned over to him to give him a tight hug, feeling a calm washing over her.

Smiling back at her very warmly, Percy continued.

**grew in clumps here and there. **

**The cavern ceiling was so high above us it might've been a bank of storm clouds, except for the stalactites, which glowed faint gray and looked wickedly pointed. **

"You knew the difference between stalactites and stalagmites?" asked Thalia, looking impressed. "Wow, Perce, didn't know you had it in you!"

**I tried not to imagine they'd fall on us at any moment, but dotted around the fields were several that had fallen and impaled themselves in the black grass. I guess the dead didn't have to worry about little hazards like being speared by stalactites the size of booster rockets. **

"Mmm," murmured Persephone. "No, they don't, and luckily, godly beings don't either."

"Like I'd ever let a stalactite fall on you, my love," Hades reminded her, which the Goddess of Spring simply harrumphed. Her mother didn't look convinced either.

**Annabeth, Grover, and I tried to blend into the crowd, keeping an eye out for security ghouls. I couldn't help looking for familiar faces among the spirits of Asphodel, but the dead are hard to look at. **

"That won't work," Athena told the group. "Spirits are hard to see clearly."

"Not always," murmured Hades.

**Their faces shimmer. They all look slightly angry or confused. They will come up to you and speak, but their voices sound like chatter, like bats twittering. Once they realize you can't understand them, they frown and move away.**

"Why is that?" asked Will rhetorically.

**The dead aren't scary. They're just sad. **

"That's an interesting outlook," commented Reyna.

**We crept along, following the line of new arrivals that snaked from the main gates toward a black-tented pavilion with a banner that read:**

**JUDGMENTS FOR ELYSIUM AND ETERNAL DAMNATION**

**Welcome, Newly Deceased!**

"Oh yes. Because being dead calls for a party with that slogan," laughed Hermes. "Did you design that, Uncle H?"

"No, and don't call me Uncle H," retorted Hades.

**Out the back of the tent came two much smaller lines.**

**To the left, spirits flanked by security ghouls were marched down a rocky path toward the Fields of Punishment, which glowed and smoked in the distance, a vast, cracked wasteland with rivers of lava and minefields and miles of barbed wire separating the different torture areas. **

Many people winced, imagining how it would be to live in Tartarus for the rest of eternity, the punishments never wavering, never relenting.

**Even from far away, I could see people being chased by hellhounds, burned at the stake, forced to run naked through cactus patches or listen to opera music. **

"Opera music isn't torture!" exclaimed Apollo. "It's perfectly respectable music!"

"Not really," was Percy's reply. "It gets boring after a while."

"Hey! Opera music fan right here!" yelled Leo, and everyone looked at him in disbelief.

"_You_ like opera?" demanded Katie. "Are you all right?"

**I could just make out a tiny hill, with the ant-size figure of Sisyphus struggling to move his boulder to the top. **

Persephone winced. "He complains a lot. And quite loudly at that."

**And I saw worse tortures, too – things I don't want to describe.**

"Things that I don't want to dole out," Hades added darkly. "I don't enjoy condemning people to eternal punishment, but it must be done."

**The line coming from the right side of the judgment pavilion was much better. This one led down toward a small valley surrounded by walls – a gated community, which seemed to be the only happy part of the Underworld. **

Persephone smiled happily, all thoughts of Sisyphus and his screamed complaints out of her mind. "Elysium is one of my favorite places," she exclaimed happily. "It's like an eternity of springtime!"

**Beyond the security gate were neighborhoods of beautiful houses from every time period in history, Roman villas and medieval castles and Victorian mansions. **

"The Victorian Age was quite the era," Zeus commented. "Queen Victoria was a good ruler."

Artemis didn't look happy as she disagreed. "I disagree, Father. The Victorian Age might have been the time of the Industrial Revolution and a long-reigning monarch, just as you like, but women were not given equal rights. It was unfair. I couldn't step in, either. All I could do was give them strength to pull to the top."

"There was a female on the throne," pointed out Zeus. "That is quite a lot of power."

"She was on the throne because of who she was born!" exploded Artemis. "She was a mere piece of decoration!"

**Silver and gold flowers bloomed on the lawns. The grass rippled in rainbow colors. I could hear laughter and smell barbecue cooking. **

**Elysium. **

**In the middle of that valley was a glittering blue lake, with three small islands like a vacation resort in the Bahamas. **

"Isles of the Blest?" guessed Rachel.

Annabeth nodded, her hand enclosed in Percy's.

**The Isles of the Blest, for people who had chosen to be reborn three times, and three times achieved Elysium. **

"Which is incredibly difficult to do," Jason said.

**Immediately I knew that's where I wanted to go when I died.**

"And you will," Annabeth whispered, before Percy kissed her sweetly in thanks.

"**That's what it's all about," Annabeth said, like she was reading my thoughts. "That's the place for heroes."**

**But I thought of how few people there were in Elysium, how tiny it was compared to the Fields of Asphodel or even the Fields of Punishment. So few people did good in their lives. It was depressing. **

"Depressing indeed," mused Poseidon.

**We left the judgment pavilion and moved deeper into the Asphodel Fields. It got darker. The colors faded from our clothes. The crowds of chattering spirits began to thin. **

**After a few miles of walking, we began to hear a familiar screech in the distance. **

Poseidon paled, cottoning on immediately. "Kindly Ones?" He gazed at Percy. "Were you okay, son?"

Percy smiled. "Fine, Dad. I'm still here, aren't I?"

**Looming on the horizon was a palace of glittering black obsidian. Above the parapets swirled three dark batlike creatures: the Furies. I got the feeling they were waiting for us. **

"Probably." Hades didn't even attempt to deny it.

"**I suppose it's too late to turn back," Grover said wistfully. **

"**We'll be okay." I tried to sound confident.**

"Key word, tried," pointed out Annabeth, laughing.

"Did I do that bad?" joked Percy, hugging her.

"**Maybe we should search some of the other places first," Grover suggested. "Like, Elysium, for instance..."**

"Oh, yes, definitely. Coward," sneered Ares.

Percy glared at him. "Grover is anything _but_ a coward, Ares," he snapped, his loyalty coming out but dissipating when Annabeth laid a placating hand on his arm.

"**Come on, goat boy." Annabeth grabbed his arm. **

**Grover yelped. His sneakers sprouted wings and his legs shot forward, pulling him away from Annabeth. He landed flat on his back in the grass. **

Several of the demigods and even a couple gods had to stifle laughs.

"**Grover," Annabeth chided. "Stop messing around."**

"**But I didn't-"**

Hermes's eyebrows went up.

**He yelped again. His shoes were flapping like crazy now. They levitated off the ground and started dragging him away from us.**

"_**Maia**_**!" he yelled, but the magic word seemed to have no effect. "**_**Maia**_**, already! Nine-one-one! Help!"**

"That's weird," remarked Hermes.

**I got over being stunned and made a grab for Grover's hand, but too late. He was picking up speed, skidding downhill like a bobsled. **

**We ran after him. **

**Annabeth shouted, "Untie the shoes!"**

"How the Hades will he _reach_ the shoes?" asked Dionysus, swigging from his Diet Coke.

**It was a smart idea, but I guess it's not so easy when your shoes are pulling you along feetfirst at full speed. Grover tried to sit up, but he couldn't get close to the laces.**

Annabeth smiled sheepishly. "It was a suggestion made on the spot. Not one of my best moments, I guess."

**We kept after him, trying to keep him in sight as he ripped between the legs of spirits who chattered at him in annoyance. **

Hades snorted with laughter. "Have you ever encountered annoyed spirits before, my dear?" he asked his wife.

Persephone allowed herself a tiny smile. "I can't say I have, save for when Eurydice realized that the foolish Orpheus had looked back."

Rachel was still a little awed by the fact that these people had been around all those years ago, and had witnessed the things she only read about in textbooks. Her awe must have shown on her face, because Persephone shot her a kind smile.

**I was sure Grover was going to barrel straight through the gates of Hades's palace, **

"If he did that, he'd be reincarnated immediately," snapped Hades. "I worked centuries on that palace!"

"And I'm sure it's grand," consoled Zeus.

"Grander than yours!" retorted Hades.

**but his shoes veered sharply to the right and dragged him in the opposite direction. **

**The slope got steeper. Grover picked up speed. Annabeth and I had to sprint to keep up. The cavern walls narrowed on either side, and I realized we'd entered some kind of side tunnel. No black grass or trees now, just rock underfoot, and the dim light of the stalactites above. **

Hades and Persephone, along with Hermes, who had been in the Underworld before, frowned in thought, visualizing what the book described to try to find out where the demigods and satyr were.

"**Grover!" I yelled, my voice echoing. "Hold on to something!"**

"**What?" he yelled back. **

**He was grabbing at gravel, but there was nothing big enough to slow him down. **

"I don't know why the shoes are acting like this!" wailed Hermes.

"Did you just _wail_?" asked Apollo, but was silenced by his half-brother's glare.

**The tunnel got darker and colder. The hairs on my arms bristled. It smelled evil down here. It made me think of things I shouldn't even know about – blood spilled on an ancient stone altar, the foul breath of a murderer.**

Athena's mind dove into overdrive, beginning to dissect the words and think into things. Knowing this, Annabeth rolled her eyes.

**Then I saw what was ahead of us, and I stopped dead in my tracks.**

**The tunnel widened into a huge dark cavern, and in the middle was a chasm the size of a city block.**

Poseidon gasped.

"The place he found in his dream," breathed Hera, on the edge of her throne in suspense.

**Grover was sliding straight toward the edge. **

"**Come on, Percy!" Annabeth yelled, tugging at my wrist. **

"**But that's-"**

"Go save your friend!" cried Piper, looking panicked.

"Of course he would," Nico reassured the daughter of Aphrodite. "He's too loyal to his friends to let him die." He shot a furtive glance at Percy, which the other boy caught.

"**I know!" she shouted. "The place you described in your dream! But Grover's going to fall if we don't catch him." She was right, of course. Grover's predicament got me moving again. **

"See?" Nico asked triumphantly.

"So you know me, Nic," teased Percy, "what an accomplishment."

**He was yelling, clawing at the ground, but the winged shoes kept dragging him toward the pit, and it didn't look like we could possibly get to him in time. **

**What saved him were his hooves. **

More than a few breaths of relief were spread throughout the throne room.

"Never knew being half-goat would serve such a good purpose," Hephaestus mumbled.

"It's a good thing he was saved," Hestia murmured.

**The flying sneakers had always been a loose fit on him, and finally Grover hit a big rock and the left shoe came flying off. **

Hermes looked devastated. "Oh no! One of my shoes!"

"Oh, it's just a shoe," muttered Artemis. "You have millions more."

"Here, have some cereal! It will cheer you up!" Demeter informed him cheerfully, making a bowl appear in front of her nephew, who pushed it away unashamedly.

**It sped into the darkness, down into the chasm. The right shoe kept tugging him along, but not as fast. Grover was able to slow himself down by grabbing on to the big rock and using it like an anchor. **

**He was ten feet from the edge of the pit when we caught him **

"That was a close one," remarked Leo.

"Too close for comfort," agreed Percy.

**and hauled him back up the slope. The other winged shoe tugged itself off, circled around us angrily and kicked our heads in protest before flying off into the chasm to join its twin. **

"My shoes have attitude," Hermes boasted proudly.

**We all collapsed, exhausted, on the obsidian gravel. My limbs felt like lead. Even my backpack seemed heavier, as if somebody had filled it with rocks. **

Athena jerked upright, her eyes wide. "No!" she gasped, searching for her daughter's eyes. "No!" she repeated.

Annabeth gave an ever-so-slight nod of affirmation, to which Athena collapsed backward in disbelief.

"That's very clever," she said to the silence. "Oh! How did I not realize it before?"

When pressed, she refused to give an answer.

**Grover was scratched up pretty bad. His hands were bleeding. His eyes had gone slit-pupiled, goat style, the way they did whenever he was terrified. **

Hestia winced in sympathy. "Poor satyr."

"**I don't know how..." he panted. "I didn't..."**

"**Wait," I said. "Listen."**

**I heard something – a deep whisper in the darkness. **

**Another few seconds, and Annabeth said, "Percy, this place-"**

"You should get out of there if Annabeth decides it is unsafe," Poseidon told his son, who smiled wryly.

"Her brains have saved us more than once, Dad. I know."

"**Shh." I stood. **

**The sound was getting louder, a muttering, evil voice from far, far below us. Coming from the pit. **

**Grover sat up. "Wh-what's that noise?"**

"Tartarus," whispered Persephone, looking horrified. "Get away from there!"

**Annabeth heard it too, now. I could see it in her eyes. "Tartarus. The entrance to Tartarus." I uncapped Anaklusmos. **

**The bronze sword expanded, gleaming in the darkness, and the evil voice seemed to falter, just for a moment, before resuming its chant. **

"Good to know the thing was scared of Riptide," joked Percy, attempting to defuse the rising tension.

**I could almost make out words now, ancient, ancient words, older even than Greek. As if... **

"**Magic," I said. **

Reyna also seemed to have figured it out, because she sat upright as well, a look of panic etched on her face.

Percy, feeling her stiffen, smiled reassuringly at her.

Annabeth did the same.

"**We have to get out of here," Annabeth said. **

**Together, we dragged Grover to his hooves and started back up the tunnel. My legs wouldn't move fast enough. My backpack weighed me down. **

"Why don't you get it?" moaned Athena. "You should have at least told my daughter!"

"I wasn't sure if it was relevant!" Percy defended himself.

"And I doubt if I could have figured it out, with the chaos that was going on," added Annabeth.

**The voice got louder and angrier behind us, and we broke into a run. **

**Not a moment too soon. **

**A cold blast of wind pulled at our backs, as if the entire pit were inhaling. **

Hades winced, seemingly figuring it out as well. "I _told_ them it wasn't my fault," he muttered to himself, so that not even his brothers could hear his words.

**For a terrifying moment, I lost ground, my feet slipping in the gravel. If we'd been any closer to the edge, we would've been sucked in. **

Hazel let out a whoosh of air in relief. "Thank the gods! That was terrifying!"

Frank nodded. "Terrifying!" he echoed. "I doubt I could have survived that." He looked forlorn.

"You could have, dude," Percy informed him. "You're one of the most resourceful kids I know."

"My children are not _resourceful_," Ares muttered.

"My siblings are not _resourceful_," Clarisse mumbled.

**We kept struggling forward, and finally reached the top of the tunnel, where the cavern widened out into the Fields of Asphodel. The wind died. A wail of outrage echoed from deep in the tunnel. Something was not happy we'd gotten away. **

"I didn't think it would be," Reyna commented darkly.

"What is it?" Jason demanded. "Come on, Rey! What is it?"

Reyna shook her head, indicating that Percy should continue to read.

"**What was that?" Grover panted, when we'd collapsed in the relative safety of a black poplar grove. "One of Hades's pets?"**

"Definitely not!" Hades exclaimed indignantly.

Persephone chuckled, albeit weakly. "You never know, my lord. You've been known to keep some evil pets. _Kindly Ones_," she coughed.

"Love you too, my dear," joked Hades in return, prompting a wide, beaming smile from Persephone.

"I think she forgives him," Annabeth whispered to Percy, who nodded.

"Yep. About time, too."

**Annabeth and I looked at each other. I could tell she was nursing an idea, probably the same one she'd gotten during the taxi ride to L.A., but she was too scared to share it. That was enough to terrify me. **

"Good to know you put so much faith in me," Annabeth teased.

"Who wouldn't? You're too brilliant not to," was Percy's sincere reply, and Annabeth rewarded him with a tight hug.

**I capped my sword, put the pen back in my pocket. "Let's keep going." I looked at Grover. "Can you walk?"**

**He swallowed. "Yeah, sure. I never liked those shoes, anyway."**

Hermes gasped. "No! He did _not_ just insult the awesome shoes!"

"He did," Connor contradicted his father.

"How _dare_ he!"

**He tried to sound brave about it, but he was trembling as badly as Annabeth and I were. Whatever was in that pit was nobody's pet. **

Hades smirked triumphantly at his wife, who just replied, "For goodness sake, Hades, I was _joking_."

**It was unspeakably old and powerful. Even Echidna hadn't given me that feeling. I was almost relieved to turn my back on that tunnel and head toward the palace of Hades. **

"Must have been bad then," Demeter remarked, never missing an opportunity to bash her _darling_ brother.

And never one to take it lying down, Hades shot the Agriculture Goddess a furious glare, saying, "I'll have you know that my palace is much better than yours!"

**Almost. **

**The Furies circled the parapets, high in the gloom. The outer walls of the fortress glittered black, and the two-story-tall bronze gates stood wide open.**

**Up close, I saw that the engravings on the gates were scenes of death. **

"Isn't that pleasant?" Hera asked sarcastically.

Persephone shuddered. "I was mortified the first time I saw them."

**Some were from modern times – an atomic bomb exploding over a city, a trench filled with gas mask-wearing soldiers, a line of African famine victims waiting with empty bowls – but all of them looked as if they'd been etched into the bronze thousands of years ago. I wondered if I was looking at prophecies that had come true. **

"Probably," Rachel told the group. "Is that so, Lord Hades?"

Hades nodded. "Some of them are. Others were actually drawn later, but were made to have that effect."

**Inside the courtyard was the strangest garden I'd ever seen. **

Persephone gasped overdramatically. "My garden is not _strange_!"

"It is, just a little bit," Hades teased.

As Persephone gave him an affronted look, Percy whispered to Annabeth, "They're like us, Wise Girl, aren't they?"

Annabeth gave him a wide smile. "Exactly. Except for the fact that they've been married for millennia. Do you suppose that will happen to us?"

"If I could control it, yep. No contest."

**Multicolored mushrooms, poisonous shrubs, **

"How did you know they were poisonous?" asked Piper.

Percy just shrugged.

**and weird luminous plants grew without sunlight. Precious jewels made up for the lack of flowers, piles of rubies as big as my fist, clumps of raw diamonds. **

Octavian's eyes grew wide with greed.

Noticing, Persephone snapped, "Those jewels belong to the Underworld, augur. Don't even _think_ about it."

**Standing here and there like frozen party guests were Medusa's garden statues – petrified children, satyrs, and centaurs – all smiling grotesquely. **

"Poor things," sympathized Hestia.

**In the center of the garden was an orchard of pomegranate trees, their orange blooms neon bright in the dark. "The garden of Persephone," Annabeth said. "Keep walking."**

"Yes, keep walking," urged Persephone herself. "The pomegranates will entice you to want to eat them."

"And that would never do," added Hades. "I wouldn't want a brat of my brother's or a brat of my niece's, no matter how heroic, to take up residence in my home until absolutely necessary."

**I understood why she wanted to move on. The tart smell of those pomegranates was almost overwhelming. I had a sudden desire to eat them, but then I remembered the story of Persephone. One bite of Underworld food, and we would never be able to leave. **

"Oh, yes," Demeter sighed. "Terribly tragic. It would have made a _terrific_ tragedy! And Shakespeare would have done it justice!"

Persephone rolled her eyes. "Good to know that you think of it simply as a story, Mother."

**I pulled Grover away to keep him from picking a big juicy one. **

"I wouldn't want a satyr, either," Hades continued. "And from the description of this one, I'd have to keep heaps of enchiladas on hand at once… and I don't want to waste my drachmas on _that_."

**We walked up the steps of the palace, between black columns, through a black marble portico, and into the house of Hades. The entry hall had a polished bronze floor, which seemed to boil in the reflected torchlight. There was no ceiling, just the cavern roof, far above. I guess they never had to worry about rain down here. **

"Nope," Hades confirmed proudly.

"Unless he gets mad," corrected Persephone.

**Every side doorway was guarded by a skeleton in military gear. Some wore Greek armor, some British redcoat uniforms, some camouflage with tattered American flags on the shoulders. They carried spears or muskets or M-16s. None of them bothered us, but their hollow eye sockets followed us as we walked down the hall, toward the big set of doors at the opposite end. **

"Ew!" squealed Aphrodite. "That's disgusting!"

**Two U.S. Marine skeletons guarded the doors. They grinned down at us, rocket-propelled grenade launchers held across their chests. **

"I've never been prouder to be American," Travis said dryly.

"**You know," Grover mumbled, "I bet Hades doesn't have trouble with door-to-door salesmen."**

"We don't," agreed Persephone. "It's quite refreshing, actually, from the times when I'm with my mother. Mother, door-to-door salesmen _target_ you!"

**My backpack weighed a ton now. I couldn't figure out why. I wanted to open it, check to see if I had somehow picked up a stray bowling ball, but this wasn't the time. **

"_Yes_," cried Athena. "It _is_ the time!"

Reyna nodded fervently in agreement with the Wisdom Goddess. "Yes, open it! You couldn't realize that it was unusual to have a suddenly heavy backpack?"

Percy stared at her for a moment, before saying, "I should have expected that you'd know, Reyna. You always were sharp." Then he turned back to the book.

"**Well, guys," I said. "I suppose we should... knock?"**

**A hot wind blew down the corridor, and the doors swung open. The guards stepped aside. **

Poseidon winced. "That isn't good," he muttered. "If Hades _wants_ to see my son, Perseus is in danger."

Hades, hearing, glared. "Glad to know you think so highly of me, brother."

"**I guess that means **_**entrez-vous**_**," Annabeth said. **

"French?" snorted Clarisse.

"Yes," Annabeth defended herself. "And Clarisse _is_ a French name, you know."

**The room inside looked just like in my dream, except this time the throne of Hades was occupied. **

"Yay, I enter the story," Hades remarked sarcastically. "Time for the wonderful comments to be thrown at me!"

**He was the third god I'd met, but the first who really struck me as godlike.**

"Are you calling me un-godlike, punk?" demanded Ares.

"Are you calling _me_ un-godlike, brat?" added Dionysus.

Percy smiled cheekily and replied, "Yes."

**He was at least ten feet tall, for one thing, and dressed in black silk robes and a crown of braided gold. **

"I always did love that crown," mused Hades.

**His skin was albino white, his hair shoulder-length and jet black. He wasn't bulked up like Ares, **

"Of course he isn't! _No one_ is bulked up like my dad!" Clarisse exclaimed indignantly, immediately jumping to her father's defense.

"Right you are, girl," Ares agreed roughly, glaring at both Hades and Percy, both of whom just let it slide.

**but he radiated power. **

"And _no one_ radiates power like _I_ do," Hades bragged.

Zeus raised an eyebrow. "Clearly the boy hasn't met me yet."

"And I thank the Fates for _that_," Poseidon interrupted, not bothering to throw in a comment of his own power.

"Men," grumbled Artemis. "Greedy, power-hungry men."

**He lounged on his throne of fused human bones, looking lithe, graceful, and dangerous as a panther. **

Hades looked disgruntled. "A _panther_?" Then he paused, considering this simile. He shrugged. "Not as bad as, say, a _kitten_."

**I immediately felt like he should be giving the orders. He knew more than I did. He should be my master. **

"Indeed I should," Hades said smugly. "See, even the boy has more sense than you, Zeus, Poseidon."

"Poor boy," Persephone jumped in. "He'll break the spell, though, he's a headstrong boy."

**Then I told myself to snap out of it. **

Zeus and Poseidon shared a laugh at their eldest brother's expense as everyone congratulated Percy on snapping out of it successfully.

"How do you know I was successful?" asked Percy teasingly, but read on before anyone could answer.

**Hades's aura was affecting me, just as Ares's had. The Lord of the Dead resembled pictures I'd seen of Adolph Hitler, or Napoleon, or the terrorist leaders who direct suicide bombers. **

"That's because he sired Adolf Hitler," Persephone snapped, her voice flat and void of any emotion.

**Hades had the same intense eyes, the same kind of mesmerizing, evil charisma. **

"**You are brave to come here, Son of Poseidon," he said in an oily voice. **

"I don't have an oily voice!"

"Yes you do," chimed Zeus and Poseidon together.

"**After what you have done to me, very brave indeed. Or perhaps you are simply very foolish."**

**Numbness crept into my joints, tempting me to lie down and just take a little nap at Hades's feet. Curl up here and sleep forever. **

"He did have that kind of aura," mused Annabeth. "But Percy handled it very well."

**I fought the feeling and stepped forward. I knew what I had to say. "Lord and Uncle, I come with two requests."**

"He was polite!" yelled Frank. "I feel faint!"

"Oh, shut up, Zhang," Percy muttered in reply.

**Hades raised an eyebrow. When he sat forward in his throne, shadowy faces appeared in the folds of his black robes, faces of torment, as if the garment were stitched of trapped souls from the Fields of Punishment, trying to get out. The ADHD part of me wondered, off-task, whether the rest of his clothes were made the same way. What horrible things would you have to do in your life to get woven into Hades's underwear?**

Hades blanched. "That is classified information."

"I find it more amusing that you were thinking of that," Hera told Percy, shuddering.

"**Only two requests?" Hades said. "Arrogant child. **

There was uproar.

"Percy is not _arrogant_!"

"My son is no more arrogant than yours!"

"Hades, what have you _become_ in the future?"

**As if you have not already taken enough. Speak, then. It amuses me not to strike you dead yet."**

"Oh, you wouldn't dare," Poseidon said in such a cold voice, everyone was hit with images of sea tragedies, worse than even the _Titanic_. With another wash of icy cold water, they were brought back to the present, eyes blinking after the horrors they had seen.

Hades blanched again. "I could have, brother," he pointed out bravely.

Poseidon narrowed his eyes, but said, his gaze never wavering from his brother's, "Continue reading, Percy."

**I swallowed. This was going about as well as I'd feared. **

**I glanced at the empty, smaller throne next to Hades's. It was shaped like a black flower, gilded with gold. **

Persephone sat up straighter at the mention of her throne. "I always did love that throne."

**I wished Queen Persephone were here. I recalled something in the myths about how she could calm her husband's moods. **

"More often than not," Hades confirmed.

**But it was summer. Of course, Persephone would be above in the world of light with her mother, the goddess of agriculture, Demeter. **

"Thank the Fates!" exclaimed Demeter. "My girl is finally happy!"

**Her visits, not the tilt of the planet, create the seasons. **

"That's such an easier way to remember," observed Will. "After all, it's so complicated to learn about the tilting of the planet. Why not just stick with the original reasoning?"

**Annabeth cleared her throat. Her finger prodded me in the back. **

"**Lord Hades," I said. "Look, sir, there can't be a war among the gods. It would be... bad."**

"That's the understatement of the year," muttered Jason.

"**Really bad," Grover added helpfully. **

"**Return Zeus's master bolt to me," I said. "Please, sir. Let me carry it to Olympus."**

"Idiot," moaned Athena. Who knew what a comment like that would have done to her future uncle's mood?

**Hades's eyes grew dangerously bright. "You dare keep up this pretense, after what you have done?**

"Quit speaking in riddles!" Apollo complained.

"You're the God of Prophecies, shouldn't you be an expert on riddles?" asked Clarisse rudely.

Apollo rolled his eyes and said in a _duh_ voice, "My _own_ riddles, darling daughter of Ares, not _other_ people's riddles."

**I glanced back at my friends. They looked as confused as I was. **

"**Um... Uncle," I said. "You keep saying 'after what you've done.' What exactly have I done?"**

"Very good question!" approved Hermes.

"Do _you_ know?" Athena asked her uncle in a snotty, know-it-all voice.

Hades gave her a look. "This is in the _future_, Athena."

**The throne room shook with a tremor so strong, they probably felt it upstairs in Los Angeles. **

"_Way_ upstairs," joked Leo, trying to lessen the tension. Needless to say, it did not work. At all.

**Debris fell from the cavern ceiling. Doors burst open all along the walls, and skeletal warriors marched in, hundreds of them, from every time period and nation in Western civilization. They lined the perimeter of the room, blocking the exits. **

"A little overdramatic, don't you think, dear?" asked Persephone, as if they were discussing the weather.

"No, not at all," was Hades's quick reply.

**Hades bellowed, "Do you think I **_**want**_** war, godling?"**

"Yes!" shouted Clarisse. "WAR! WAR! WAR!"

"As much as I hate to agree with Clarisse, my dad doesn't seem like someone who wouldn't want war… at least, in this predicament," Nico muttered to Thalia.

**I wanted to say, Well**_**, these guys don't look like peace activists**_**. **

Even Hades had to join in on the laughter on this one.

"Brilliant!" cheered Connor.

**But I thought that might be a dangerous answer. **

"You _think_?" asked Katie sarcastically.

"**You are the Lord of the Dead," I said carefully. "A war would expand your kingdom, right?"**

"Exactly!" cried Zeus. "The boy _finally_ sees sense!"

"**A typical thing for my brothers to say! Do you think I need more subjects? Did you not see the sprawl of the Asphodel Fields?"**

Poseidon winced. "He's right, brother," he said to Zeus. "The Asphodel Fields don't need any more residents."

"Then just throw them into Tartarus or Elysium!" Zeus acted like it was a flawless plan.

Hades rolled his eyes. "Why are you our king?"

"**Well..."**

"**Have you any idea how much my kingdom has swollen in this past century alone, how many subdivisions I've had to open?"**

"A lot?" Octavian guessed, the first comment he had made that wasn't insulting a Greek.

Some of the others pretended to faint and check if they were hallucinating.

**I opened my mouth to respond, but Hades was on a roll now.**

"That's never good," Persephone shared.

Hades glared at her. "Sometimes I wonder why I ever chose _you_ to be my wife."

"That's right, you could have chosen _Maria_," Persephone said, spitting out the name as if it were poison.

"Don't say my mother's name like that!" shouted Nico.

Persephone leveled him with a fierce glare. "I will say _that woman's_ name however I wish, son of-" She cut off, taking a deep breath to calm herself.

"**More security ghouls," he moaned. "Traffic problems at the judgment pavilion. Double overtime for the staff. **

"It must take a lot," Hestia comforted her brother with sympathy.

Hades nodded fervently in agreement. "A _lot_."

**I used to be a rich god, Percy Jackson. I control all the precious metals under the earth. But my expenses!"**

"**Charon wants a pay raise," I blurted, just remembering the fact. **

"Seaweed Brain," Thalia sighed. "Can't you ever keep your mouth shut?"

Percy shook his head with a wide smile.

**As soon as I said it, I wished I could sew up my mouth. **

"We've all wished that at one point," Hazel teased her friend.

"**Don't get me started on Charon!" Hades yelled. "He's been impossible ever since he discovered Italian suits! **

"They _are_ pretty awesome!" Apollo cried. "Don't diss the Italian suits, Uncle!"

**Problems everywhere, and I've got to handle all of them personally. The commute time alone from the palace to the gates is enough to drive me insane! And the dead just keep arriving. No, godling. I need no help getting subjects! I did not ask for this war."**

"**But you took Zeus's master bolt."**

"Percy," Reyna said sternly, "Thalia is right. Can you _never_ be quiet? You're just digging your grave all the deeper!"

Percy grinned. "I don't dig my own graves, Reyna. I'll have somebody to do it for me."

"**Lies!" More rumbling. Hades rose from his throne, towering to the height of a football goalpost. "Your father may fool Zeus, boy, but I am not so stupid. **

"I did not," protested Poseidon. "Although it is right that it's quite easy to fool our brother."

**I see his plan."**

"**His plan?"**

**You were the thief on the winter solstice," he said. **

"He was!" Hades yelled.

"I think, brother, that, because this book is in my son's point of view, he'd make no mistake in remembering that he was _not_ at the winter solstice," Poseidon said diplomatically.

"And I wasn't," piped up Percy.

"**Your father thought to keep you his little secret. He directed you into the throne room on Olympus, you took the master bolt and my helm. Had I not sent my Fury to discover you at Yancy Academy, Poseidon might have succeeded in hiding his scheme to start a war. But now you have been forced into the open. You will be exposed as Poseidon's thief, and I will have my helm back!"**

"You lost your helm?" asked Thalia, bolting upright. Her mind, too, was moving into overdrive as it attempted to discover the complicated scheme.

"**But..." Annabeth spoke. I could tell her mind was going a million miles an hour. "Lord Hades, your helm of darkness is missing, too?"**

"Good! Figure it out!" cried Athena.

"**No!" I said. "Poseidon didn't–I didn't–"**

"**I have said nothing of the helm's disappearance," Hades snarled, "because I had no illusions that anyone on Olympus would offer me the slightest justice, the slightest help. I can ill afford for word to get out that my most powerful weapon of fear is missing. So I searched for you myself, and when it was clear you were coming to me to deliver your threat, I did not try to stop you."**

Hestia shook her head in disappointment. "You really are quite stupid in the future, brother," she said quietly. "The boy clearly has no idea of what you are speaking of. Even he could not act _that_ well."

"**You didn't try to stop us? But-"**

"Oh, yes, having to tame Cerberus wasn't trying to stop us," Annabeth snapped, remembering the fear she had felt at the time.

"**Return my helm now, or I will stop death," Hades threatened. **

"Lady Hestia is right," Athena told Hades. "You are truly blind. How can you not see it? Stopping death is quite a big threat, don't you think?"

"**That is my counterproposal. I will open the earth and have the dead pour back into the world. I will make your lands a nightmare. And you, Percy Jackson–**_**your**_** skeleton will lead my army out of Hades." **

**The skeletal soldiers all took one step forward, making their weapons ready.**

"Don't you dare!" thundered Poseidon. "If you kill my son, Hades, I swear-"

**At that point, I probably should have been terrified. **

"You _don't_ say!" Piper exclaimed, rolling her eyes in a strange resemblance of Aphrodite.

Seeing this, her mother beamed proudly.

**The strange thing was, I felt offended. Nothing gets me angrier than being accused of something I didn't do. I've had a lot of experience with that. **

"He's in for it," Nico stage-whispered to Thalia. "Once Percy gets on a roll, there's no stopping him."

"**You're as bad as Zeus," I said. **

"Hey!" both brothers shouted indignantly.

"I don't want to be compared to _him_!" they shouted in unison.

"**You think I stole from you? That's why you sent the Furies after me?"**

"Of course," Hades said.

"**Of course," Hades said. **

"**And the other monsters?"**

**Hades curled his lip. "I had nothing to do with them. I wanted no quick death for you–I wanted you brought before me alive so you might face every torture in the Fields of Punishment. **

"He wouldn't," Persephone assured her uncle before the sea god could say a word. She shot a sharp look in her husband's direction. "He wouldn't _dare_."

**Why do you think I let you enter my kingdom so easily?"**

"_**Easily?**_**"**

"**Return my property!"**

"Sounds like someone else needs subject changing lessons," commented Travis.

"Oh, yes, that was oh-so-_subtle_," added Connor.

Neither flinched when the Lord of the Dead leveled a glare on them.

"**But I don't have your helm. I came for the master bolt."**

"**Which you already possess!" Hades shouted. "You came here with it, little fool, thinking you could you threaten me!"**

"He never threatened you," Demeter cried. "What are you on about, brother? I always knew you were no good!"

Hades just rolled his eyes in response. "That was only after I kidnapped your daughter, Demeter, and you know it."

"**But I didn't!"**

"**Open your pack, then."**

**A horrible feeling struck me. The weight in my backpack, like a bowling ball. It couldn't be... **

In that moment, everyone else figured it out, their eyes widening in fear.

"Oh no," breathed Hazel.

"How are you still alive?" demanded Jason, his eyes wide in apprehension.

"Skill," joked Percy, before getting slapped by Annabeth so he would continue reading.

**I slung it off my shoulder and unzipped it. Inside was a two-foot-long metal cylinder, spiked on both ends, humming with energy. **

Zeus let out a whoop. "Yes! My master bolt! It's safe! And Hades never had his filthy hands on it!" He stroked the bolt in his hands lovingly. "Thank the Fates!"

"My hands are not _filthy_," grumbled Hades. Then he smirked smugly. "I _told_ you fools that I never had the stupid thing!"

"Don't call my bolt stupid! Your helm is just as stupid!" Zeus yelled childishly.

Athena stared at her father for a second, before voicing her opinion. "We really need a new king. I'm surprised humankind has lasted so long with _him_ as the king of all kings."

"Aren't we all," mumbled Hera.

**Percy," Annabeth said. "How-"**

"**I-I don't know. I don't understand."**

"**You heroes are always the same," Hades said. "Your pride makes you foolish, thinking you could bring such a weapon before me. **

"Percy isn't foolish!" cried Thalia. "He's anything but! And that's just a stupid stereotype!"

**I did not ask for Zeus's master bolt, but since it is here, you will yield it to me. **

"He'll do no such thing!" exclaimed Zeus indignantly. "You didn't, did you, boy?" he demanded of Percy.

Rolling his eyes, Percy responded, "As much as you people think of us, we are _not_ fools. So _of course_ I didn't! He captured my mother! Do you think I would hand over the most powerful weapon in history to him?"

**I am sure it will make an excellent bargaining tool. And now... my helm. Where is it?"**

"He doesn't have it!" shouted Frank exasperatedly.

"You sure have a thick skull, Father," Nico told his father dryly.

Hades glared at him.

"Maybe you aren't so bad after all," Persephone contemplated, gazing at the boy.

**I was speechless. I had no helm. I had no idea how the master bolt had gotten into my backpack. **

At this, everyone began to glare at Ares. "What?" the War God demanded. "What are you staring at, punks?"

Athena sighed. "It was a brilliant plan. If only it were a _good_ one, instead of an _evil_ one."

"It wasn't evil!" protested Ares. "It was _incredible_. It would have started a war like one never seen before! It would have been better than the Trojan War!"

"No way," disagreed Aphrodite. "_That_ war was fought because of _love_, and that makes it the best war of all! Plus, it involved Helen of Troy, who was simply _charming_."

**I wanted to think Hades was pulling some kind of trick. Hades was the bad guy. But suddenly the world turned sideways. I realized I'd been played with. Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades had been set at each other's throats by someone else. **

Everyone glared at Ares again, except for Athena.

"The whole thing wasn't _all_ Ares's fault," she said, then sent a fierce glare at her half-brother. "Not that it wasn't partially his fault."

**The master bolt had been in the backpack, and I'd gotten the backpack from... **

"**Lord Hades, wait," I said. "This is all a mistake."**

"**A mistake?" Hades roared. **

Everyone cringed.

"Wrong thing to say, dude," Jason pointed out the obvious.

**The skeletons aimed their weapons. From high above, there was a fluttering of leathery wings, and the three Furies swooped down to perch on the back of their master's throne. **

"I bet Grover was shaking in his hooves," guessed Will, half in amusement and half in pity for the satyr.

Percy and Annabeth glanced at each other before laughing.

**The one with Mrs. Dodds's face grinned at me eagerly and flicked her whip. **

"**There is no mistake," Hades said. "I know why you have come–I know the **_**real**_** reason you brought the bolt. You came to bargain for **_**her**_**."**

"Oh no," murmured Poseidon. "He's going to show you your mother, isn't he?"

Percy nodded, sighing. He still felt guilty about that, though his mother forgave him and assured him that he had done the correct thing.

**Hades loosed a ball of gold fire from his palm. It exploded on the steps in front of me, and there was my mother, frozen in a shower of gold, just as she was at the moment when the Minotaur began to squeeze her to death.**

Again, many people flinched. It must have been hard for a twelve-year-old boy to see his mother after believing her dead.

"You're cruel, brother, so very cruel," choked out Hestia.

**I couldn't speak. I reached out to touch her, but the light was as hot as a bonfire. **

"Definitely cruel," sighed Demeter. "First you take a daughter away from her mother, and now you take a mother away from her son?"

"Despicable," agreed Persephone, winking at her husband. "Make no mistake, I find that to be coldhearted."

"**Yes," Hades said with satisfaction. "I took her. I knew, Percy Jackson, that you would come to bargain with me eventually. Return my helm, and perhaps I will let her go. She is not dead, you know. Not yet. But if you displease me, that will change."**

"Ha! No it won't," snarled Poseidon, "unless he wants his entire kingdom _destroyed_, and the dead will wander the earth, and everything will be pinned down on _him_."

Hades shuddered at the threat.

"Perhaps we could find him a double cell with our darling father," Poseidon continued.

**I thought about the pearls in my pocket. Maybe they could get me out of this. If I could just get my mom free... **

"No," Poseidon said sadly, his former rage disappearing. "There are only three pearls. You'd have to leave a friend, yourself, or your mother to face Hades's wrath."

"**Ah, the pearls," Hades said, and my blood froze. **

"Creepy," sang Travis, attempting to break the tension, yet _again_, but yet _again_, it failed.

"**Yes, my brother and his little tricks. Bring them forth, Percy Jackson."**

**My hand moved against my will and brought out the pearls. **

"It will do no difference," Hades defended himself before anyone could scold Percy for doing so. "I'd have to let three of them go, no matter which three go. I wouldn't be able to take the pearls from my darling nephew."

"Love you too, Uncle," Percy muttered.

"**Only three," Hades said. "What a shame. You do realize each only protects a single person. Try to take your mother, then, little godling. And which of your friends will you leave behind to spend eternity with me? Go on. Choose. **

"He's playing on Percy's weaknesses," Reyna realized grimly. "He knows that Percy's unswervingly loyal to his friends and he loves his mother very much, so he's almost _blackmailing_ him into giving him the bolt."

**Or give me the backpack and accept my terms."**

A chorus of "NO!"s were heard, Zeus's loudest of all. "Not my bolt!" he wailed. "Anything but my bolt!"

"He's such a child," Hera grumbled to her sisters. "Remind me why I married him again?"

"For the power and riches," was Demeter's instant answer.

"She's right, you know, sister," Hestia agreed. "You always were weak for power and jewels. But look at you now. A queen, the mightiest of all queens, and sitting on a throne fit for no one but you."

"Yet I have an unfaithful husband," snapped Hera. There was remorse in her eyes. "Sometimes, I believe that I would rather have been his sister than his wife, so I would never have suffered like this."

"You always did love him," Demeter reminded her. "You would have suffered the same way."

**I looked at Annabeth and Grover. Their faces were grim. **

"**We were tricked," I told them. "Set up."**

"**Yes, but why?" Annabeth asked. "And the voice in the pit-"**

"Was ancient," completed Athena. "More ancient than Hades himself."

Hades scowled. "Watch who you're calling old!"

"You're the eldest god," Athena made excuse, "so I had to use you."

Realization dawned on the Lord of the Dead and the Lord of the Seas. They exchanged a glance. Zeus was still oblivious as Poseidon leaned over and whispered so that only his older brother could hear, "Father." He spoke in Ancient Greek.

"Yes," Hades replied, just as quietly and in the same tongue. "This is a disaster."

"This will be chaos."

"**I don't know yet," I said. "But I intend to ask."**

"**Decide, boy!" Hades yelled. **

"Impatient much?" asked Connor.

"Believe me, he sounded a lot worse in person," Percy replied.

"We should have patience lessons too!" Travis exclaimed, and Connor nodded in fervent agreement.

"**Percy." Grover put his hand on my shoulder. "You can't give him the bolt."**

"Way to be Captain Obvious," Leo mumbled.

"You never know," Annabeth defended Grover. "Seaweed Brain here can be quite thick sometimes."

"Hey!"

"**I know that."**

"**Leave me here," he said. "Use the third pearl on your mom."**

"Percy would never stand for that," Hazel remarked.

"Never," agreed Frank.

"**No!"**

"See?" Hazel and Frank asked in unison.

"Aw, how cute! They're already speaking in unison!" cooed Aphrodite.

"**I'm a satyr," Grover said. "We don't have souls like humans do. He can torture me until I die, but he won't get me forever. I'll just be reincarnated as a flower or something. It's the best way."**

"Aw, where's the fun in that?" complained Hades.

"Heartless," spat Demeter. "I doubt even cereal could cure that."

"Did you just put down cereal? The world is ending!" taunted Hades sarcastically.

"Shut up," Persephone snapped sharply.

"**No." Annabeth drew her bronze knife. "You two go on. Grover, you have to protect Percy. You have to get your searcher's license and start your quest for Pan. **

"Yes! Find Pan!" cheered Hermes.

Athena glared. "Not if it means my daughter has to die!"

**Get his mom out of here. I'll cover you. I plan to go down fighting."**

"No!" cried out Athena. "You're too young to die!"

"Mother, I'm sitting right here," Annabeth reminded the Wisdom Goddess.

Apparently, even the smartest goddess could be blinded by maternal instincts.

"**No way," Grover said. "I'm staying behind."**

"**Think again, goat boy," Annabeth said. **

"**Stop it, both of you!" I felt like my heart was being ripped in two. They had both been with me through so much. I remembered Grover dive-bombing Medusa in the statue garden, **

"That was funny!" Leo cheered.

**and Annabeth saving us from Cerberus; **

"That was terror-inducing," Annabeth agreed. "Be grateful you didn't have to do it."

Percy smiled. "I'm glad every day, Wise Girl."

**we'd survived Hephaestus's Waterland ride, the St. Louis Arch, the Lotus Casino. I had spent thousands of miles worried that I'd be betrayed by a friend, but these friends would never do that. **

"No, never," Annabeth pledged firmly.

Percy kissed her. "I know that now."

**They had done nothing but save me, over and over, and now they wanted to sacrifice their lives for my mom. **

"What are friends for?" Annabeth looked a little sad, but shook it off.

"Luke was a hero," Percy whispered to Annabeth, guessing correctly what her thoughts were.

Annabeth smiled gratefully, glad for the change from what Thalia's mantra had been.

"**I know what to do," I said. "Take these."**

**I handed them each a pearl. **

Everyone held their breath.

"You're not going to sacrifice yourself, are you?" demanded Piper.

Percy just smiled, reading on.

**Annabeth said, "But, Percy..."**

"I really was worried then," Annabeth said. She and Percy were the only ones truly calm. Ares was feigning disinterest, Clarisse was playing with a knife she had stolen from the kitchens, Dionysus was flipping through a wine magazine and sipping Diet Coke, and Octavian was scoffing to himself.

**I turned and faced my mother. I desperately wanted to sacrifice myself and use the last pearl on her, but I knew what she would say. She would never allow it. **

Everyone who had held their breath let it out in a whoosh.

"Thank the Fates," sighed Poseidon. "For a moment there, I thought that you would do that. Not that I don't want Sally saved, but…" He trailed off. As much as he loved Sally, he knew she would want their son to get to safety.

**I had to get the bolt back to Olympus and tell Zeus the truth. I had to stop the war. She would never forgive me if I saved her instead. **

"A mother values her child above all," lectured Hera.

Everyone, even Octavian, looked at her like she had gone crazy.

"Hypocrite much?" Rachel murmured to Katie, who nodded ever so slightly in agreement.

Demeter was glaring at Hades, nodding furiously in agreement.

Hoping to break the silence, Percy read on.

**I thought about the prophecy made at Half-Blood Hill, what seemed like a million years ago. **_**You will fail to save what matters most in the end.**_

"**I'm sorry," I told her. "I'll be back. I'll find a way."**

**The smug look on Hades's face faded.**

Hermes and Apollo looked at Percy with new respect.

"We've been trying to do that for _centuries_!" exclaimed Hermes.

"Congrats, godling!"

**He said, "Godling...?"**

"**I'll find your helm, Uncle," I told him. "I'll return it. Remember about Charon's pay raise."**

Frank snorted. "Of course he'd be thinking about the nutty boatman _now_."

"**Do not defy me-"**

"Technically, the punk's not defying you," Clarisse pointed out. "He _is_ following one of your options. Though, I wouldn't object to blowing him up."

"Thanks, Clarisse," Percy grumbled.

"No problem, punk."

"**And it wouldn't hurt to play with Cerberus once in a while. He likes red rubber balls."**

"Ooh, cheeky," Travis joked.

"You can help us teach _Being Cheeky_ lessons!" Connor added.

"**Percy Jackson, you will not-"**

**I shouted, "Now, guys!"**

**We smashed the pearls at our feet. For a scary moment, nothing happened. **

"No!" moaned Poseidon.

**Hades yelled, "Destroy them!"**

**The army of skeletons rushed forward, swords out, guns clicking to full automatic. The Furies lunged, their whips bursting into flame. **

"Fire!" cheered Leo.

**Just as the skeletons opened fire, the pearl fragments at my feet exploded with a burst of green light and a gust of fresh sea wind. I was encased in a milky white sphere, which was starting to float off the ground. **

All the demigods and Rachel except for Octavian and Clarisse began to cheer.

"They're getting away, they're getting away, and they're getting away!" the Stoll brothers chanted/sang.

Leo, Frank, and Will joined in on their song.

**Annabeth and Grover were right behind me. Spears and bullets sparked harmlessly off the pearl bubbles as we floated up. Hades yelled with such rage, the entire fortress shook and I knew it was not going to be a peaceful night in L.A. **

"Definitely not, if he" – Poseidon jerked his head toward his younger brother – "doesn't get his precious bolt back."

"**Look up," Grover yelled. "We're going to crash!"**

**Sure enough, we were racing right toward the stalactites, which I figured would pop our bubbles and skewer us. **

"Will they?" asked Katie fearfully.

Percy opened his mouth to answer, but Annabeth shook her head, urging him to read on. So he did.

"**How do you control these things?" Annabeth shouted. **

"**I don't think you do!" I shouted back. **

"Way to state the obvious," sneered Clarisse.

"Which is more than you can do," was Percy's answer, though he added a smile to prove he was joking.

Clarisse scowled.

**We screamed as the bubbles slammed into the ceiling and... darkness. **

**Were we dead?**

"I hope not," muttered Hades darkly. "I'd rather go through Tartarus than deal with those brats for eternity."

"You sound like Mr. D," Percy informed him conversationally.

**No, I could still feel the racing sensation. We were going up, right through solid rock as easily as an air bubble in water. That was the power of the pearls, I realized–**_**What belongs to the sea **_

"Will always return to the sea," completed Poseidon, smiling at his son. "Right?"

Percy nodded, smiling back. "Definitely, Dad."

_**will always return to the sea. **_

**For a few moments, I couldn't see anything outside the smooth walls of my sphere, then my pearl broke through on the ocean floor. The two other milky spheres, Annabeth and Grover, **

"Are you calling a milky sphere?" demanded Annabeth playfully.

"So what if I am?" Percy teased in return.

**kept pace with me as we soared upward through the water. And–**_**ker-blam**_**!**

**We exploded on the surface, in the middle of the Santa Monica Bay, knocking a surfer off his board with an indignant, "Dude!"**

Several of the demigods burst into snorting laughter.

"That's hilarious," choked out Travis.

**I grabbed Grover and hauled him over to a life buoy. I caught Annabeth and dragged her over too. A curious shark was circling us, a great white about eleven feet long. **

"How did you know it was a great white shark?" asked Annabeth, surprised. She hadn't taken her boyfriend to be a shark type.

Percy laughed. "I'm a child of the sea," was his mysterious answer.

**I said, "Beat it."**

**The shark turned and raced away. **

"You just commanded a shark!" exclaimed Hera.

"I'm so proud," joked Poseidon, wiping a nonexistent tear from his cheek.

Percy just rolled his eyes.

**The surfer screamed something about bad mushrooms **

"He sounds like Scrooge!" Annabeth cried. "I didn't realize that until now!"

"Scrooge?" More than a few people stared at her in curiosity.

"Are you all crazy?" asked Athena, gasping. "You haven't read _A Christmas Carol_ by Charles Dickens?"

Annabeth nodded in agreement with her mother. "It's an amazing book!" She glared at Percy. "Have _you_ read it?"

Percy shook his head in the negative.

"Let's just say Scrooge needs a lot of proof, and when a ghost approached him, he said he was hallucinating as a result of bad food," Annabeth concluded in a nutshell for the nutters who didn't read classics.

**and paddled away from us as fast as he could. **

**Somehow, I knew what time it was: early morning, June 21, the day of the summer solstice.**

"Creepy," Frank teased.

"Just like you," shot back Percy, grinning.

**In the distance, Los Angeles was on fire, plumes of smoke rising from neighborhoods all over the city. There had been an earthquake, all right, and it was Hades's fault. **

"Psh! That's nothing!" scoffed Poseidon. "That's nothing compared to what _I_ could do, son."

"I don't doubt it," muttered Hades, having seen the aftermath of Poseidon's wrath more than once.

"Arrogant," murmured Artemis, but she smiled at Percy. Perhaps the boy wasn't so bad after all.

**He was probably sending an army of the dead after me right now. **

"I wouldn't waste my time and energy," Hades defended himself. Then he paused. "Though, this _is_ in the future, so I don't know. Do I?"

Percy just shrugged in response, and Annabeth nodded approvingly at his answer.

**But at the moment, the Underworld wasn't my biggest problem. **

"That's a first," said Persephone, surprised. Mortals who went into the Underworld and escaped nearly unscathed were still haunted by memories… usually.

"I'm a strange case," Percy replied, laughing.

**I had to get to shore. I had to get Zeus's thunderbolt back to Olympus. **

"Yes!" cheered Zeus. "_Finally_ I get my rightful property back!" He glared at one of his many sons, Ares. "How dare you steal it?"

Ares shrugged. "I don't know. Even _I_ normally wouldn't be _that_ stupid."

"If you're sure," muttered Hera.

**Most of all, I had to have a serious conversation with the god who'd tricked me. **

"I'm shaking in my combat books," Ares said sarcastically.

Smiling as he closed the book, Percy replied, "Oh, I think you _are_, Ares. They're combat _boots_, not books."

As the others chortled at the War God's expense, Percy handed off the book to Will, who had asked for it over the din.

x.o.x.o.x.

A/N: Let's just say that it was a _fast_ update, especially compared to the last one! I hope you enjoyed it, and don't forget about my review-present! ;) Maybe get to 600 for my birthday? Love you all so much! xoxo


	23. I Battle My Jerk Relative

A/N: Late, I know, but hey! Happy Christmas to those who celebrate it! And Happy Hanukah! And Happy Kwanza! Happy holidays! This is my holiday gift to you, for whatever you celebrate! I hope you enjoy it!

x.o.x.o.x.

**I Battle My Jerk Relative,** began Will.

"Ooh, a battle!" growled Ares keenly, rubbing his hands together. "I wonder who I'll favor in this one."

Percy snorted almost inaudibly and said to Annabeth, almost just as quietly, "I bet I know."

"How many jerk relatives do you have?" Hera asked Percy in interest.

"A _lot_," muttered Nico.

Percy just grinned. "A lot," he echoed the son of Hades.

**A Coast Guard boat picked us up, but they were too busy to keep us for long, or to wonder how three kids in street clothes had gotten out into the middle of the bay. **

"Ignorant mortals," commented Aphrodite. "Even _I_ would be concerned if three twelve-year-olds were on my boat in street clothes."

"Probably only because they were filthy and unfashionable," murmured Leo.

"Hey! I heard that!" protested Aphrodite.

"Don't worry," Ares soothed her, "it's true."

**There was a disaster to mop up. Their radios were jammed with distress calls. **

"And whose fault was that?" asked Demeter accusingly, staring pointedly at her brother.

"Seriously, Demeter, this is a millennia-old grudge. Can't you _drop it_ already?" demanded Hades. "It's getting pretty annoying."

"No, I will _not_ drop it!" shrilled Demeter. "You _kidnapped_ my _daughter_, and you expect me to _drop it_? Are you mad?"

Persephone rolled her eyes. "Shut up, Mother. _Please_. You're making my head hurt, and you both are acting like children."

"Don't they all," muttered Zeus tiredly.

**They dropped us off at the Santa Monica Pier with towels around our shoulders and water bottles that said I'M A JUNIOR COAST GUARD! and sped off to save more people. **

"Ooh, a souvenir," joked Hermes dryly.

"Because they'd _so_ want to remember that experience," shot back Artemis, rolling her eyes.

Never one to choose sides on an argument, Hestia jumped in with, "He just saw his mother and was unable to save her, Hermes. You think he'd want a souvenir for _that_?"

Hermes rolled his eyes. "I was _joking_, duh!"

"Don't use that tone with your aunt," snapped Hera.

**Our clothes were sopping wet, even mine. When the Coast Guard boat had appeared, I'd silently prayed they wouldn't pick me out of the water and find me perfectly dry, **

"Which means he would have come out just as wet," Poseidon said.

Travis grumbled, "Why do _you_ get all the cool powers, Perce? We're stuck with just boring old stuff!"

Percy grinned. "I was _chosen_," he joked.

**which might've raised some eyebrows. So I'd willed myself to get soaked. Sure enough, my usual waterproof magic had abandoned me. I was also barefoot, because I'd given my shoes to Grover. Better the Coast Guard wonder why one of us was barefoot than wonder why one of us had hooves. **

"Unless the Mist concealed it," pointed out Athena.

"But it might not have," Demeter told her, no hint of sarcasm or malice in her tone, simply her opinion.

Athena shrugged. "True."

**After reaching dry land, we stumbled down the beach, watching the city burn against a beautiful sunrise. I felt as if I'd just come back from the dead – which I had. **

"That was _so_ funny," Connor commented sarcastically.

"I know," replied Percy brightly, beaming. "I _do_ try."

Jason stared at him for a moment. "You're weird."

Percy snorted with laughter. "Dude, you're not the first to tell me that."

**My backpack was heavy with Zeus's master bolt. **

"My bolt!" cheered Zeus. "Yes! Finally! I'll get it back!" He stroked the present bolt in his hands. "I can't imagine being without it."

Hera slapped him hard on the arm. Even for a god, Zeus was physically hurt.

"Hey!"

"You're heartless!" snapped Hera. "The boy just saw his missing mother and was unable to _rescue_ her from our _insane_ brother just for your _stupid_ bolt! And who is your wife? That idiotic thing or me?"

Percy leaned over to Annabeth and whispered loudly, "What happened to _her_? Why is she a doting aunt to me in the past and a scathing one in the future?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes at him. "You did good stuff in this book, Seaweed Brain. You've grown on her. And I didn't know you knew a word like _scathing_."

Thalia chuckled quietly. "The Romans corrupt you, Perce?"

"It'd be _you_ who would corrupt him. Roman morals are _so_ superior to Greek morals," snapped Octavian.

"You seem to forget which came first," Piper said frostily, glaring at him.

**My heart was even heavier from seeing my mother. **

"Aw, isn't he sweet?" cooed Hestia.

Percy shifted uncomfortably. Nico snickered.

"**I don't believe it," Annabeth said. "We went all that way–"**

"**It was a trick," I said. "A strategy worthy of Athena."**

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" demanded Athena. "Is that an insult?"

"I thought she was going to say, _is that a fat joke_," Leo whispered secretively to the Stoll brothers. Rachel, overhearing, had to cover up her laugh with a hacking cough.

Athena barely spared her a glance before returning her sharp eyes on her daughter's boyfriend. "Well?"

"It was a clever trick," Percy said, scrambling for neutral words. "And strategies like those are your specialty… aren't they?"

Annabeth shot him a glare before jumping to his defense. "And, Mother, you said yourself it was a brilliant plan."

"**Hey," she warned. **

"You had the same reaction, it seems," Athena said, heavily veiled amusement in her tone.

Annabeth smiled. "I _was_ twelve, Mother."

"Hmph. Hardly an excuse," harrumphed Athena, but amusement colored her tone in the slightest.

"**You get it, don't you?"**

**She dropped her eyes, her anger fading. "Yeah. I get it."**

"Of course you do," teased Rachel. "You get _everything_."

Annabeth just grinned in return, knowing that nothing could lower her spirits, because she had been reunited with Percy. "Of course I do. I'm the daughter of Athena," she joked in response.

"**Well, I don't!" Grover complained. "Would somebody–"**

"Oh Grover," chuckled Thalia.

"**Percy..." Annabeth said. "I'm sorry about your mother. I'm so sorry..."**

"That might have been an insensitive thing to bring up," murmured Reyna quietly, obviously meaning no offense.

Hearing this in the praetor's voice, Annabeth just smiled sadly. "Maybe it was."

**I pretended not to hear her. If I talked about my mother, I was going to start crying like a little kid. **

"Wimp," taunted Clarisse.

"At least he has _feelings_," snapped Hazel, her patience wearing thin. "Not everyone is as _heartless_ as you are."

"Go Hazel," whispered Nico, chuckling quietly.

"**The prophecy was right," I said. "'You shall go west and face the god who has turned.' But it wasn't Hades. **

"And _what_ have I been telling you?" asked Hades, in a _told-you-so_ tone.

"Annoying," whispered Demeter loudly.

"_Immature_," Zeus countered, successfully silencing his sister, though the Agriculture Goddess scowled ferociously.

**Hades didn't want war among the Big Three. Someone else pulled off the theft. Someone stole Zeus's master bolt, and Hades's helm, and framed me because I'm Poseidon's kid. **

"That's cheerful," commented Apollo.

**Poseidon will get blamed by both sides. By sundown today, there will be a three-way war. And I'll have caused it."**

"How _flattering_," said Clarisse sarcastically, obviously sore over Hazel's apparent win in their quite short verbal sparring match moments earlier.

But Hazel, and the others, being much too smart to rise to the bait, stayed silent, and Will was able to continue. Clarisse sulked in silence, fuming.

**Grover shook his head, mystified. "But who would be that sneaky? Who would want war that bad?"**

Without a word, everyone, even Octavian, turned to face father and daughter, Ares and Clarisse. Clarisse looked offended.

"Hey! I _love_ a bit of good-natured fighting, but I don't want a three-way war!" she defended herself.

"Good-natured?" snorted Percy to Annabeth. "She seems to forget about how I became the Supreme Lord of the Bathroom."

**I stopped in my tracks, looking down the beach. "Gee, let me think."**

"You better not blame me, punk," snarled Ares, his tone betraying only a slight bit of fear.

"Scared?" teased Hermes.

"_Shut up_!"

**There he was, waiting for us, in his black leather duster and his sunglasses, an aluminum baseball bat propped on his shoulder. **

"Punk…" warned Ares, a snarl escaping. "You are just _asking_ for it."

"For me to beat him?" Percy mumbled.

Annabeth glared at him. "Do you _want_ to be reduced to ashes?"

Percy looked properly abashed. "Sorry."

**His motorcycle rumbled beside him, its headlight turning the sand red. **

"**Hey, kid," Ares said, seeming genuinely pleased to see me. "You were supposed to die."**

"That's nice," muttered Poseidon.

"**You tricked me," I said. "**_**You**_** stole the helm and the master bolt."**

"Way to state the obvious," said Artemis. "Typical."

**Ares grinned. "Well, now, I didn't steal them personally. Gods taking each other's symbols of power–that's a big no-no. But you're not the only hero in the world who can run errands."**

"Who…" Athena trailed off, her mind working overtime.

"It has to be a demigod from Camp Half-Blood," Persephone added to the Wisdom Goddess's incomplete question.

"But it _is_ Ares," Athena argued. "Who knows what he could have done?"

Persephone inclined her head in agreement.

"**Who did you use? Clarisse? She was there at the winter solstice."**

"No, it can't be," Athena murmured. "_You shall betrayed by one who calls you a friend_," she quoted the prophecy, and then she fell silent, her brain working again.

**The idea seemed to amuse him. "Doesn't matter. The point is, kid, you're impeding the war effort. **

"What does 'impeding' mean?" asked Travis. "Since when do you use such big words, Perce?"

Percy grinned. "That isn't me, Stoll. That's him." He jerked his head in Ares's direction.

Travis looked expectantly at Annabeth for the response.

Rolling her eyes, Annabeth recited monotonously, "To retard in movement or progress by means of obstacles or hindrances; obstruct; hinder."

Reyna, Frank, Hazel, and even Octavian gaped at her.

Catching their open mouths, Piper smiled. "This is normal," she assured them. "Annabeth is like a walking, talking computer, dictionary, and encyclopedia all wrapped in one. I guess it comes with being a child of Athena, even though her sisters and brothers, like Malcolm, aren't as extreme."

"Thanks, Piper," Annabeth told her sarcastically. "That makes me feel so loved."

"You have Percy for that, I'm pretty sure Beauty Queen doesn't swing that way," Leo joked.

**See, you've got to die in the Underworld. Then Old Seaweed will be mad at Hades for killing you. **

"Who are you calling Old Seaweed?" demanded Poseidon.

"Brother," cautioned Hestia, "don't get upset. This is in the future; we can change it."

Hera frowned disapprovingly at her son. "But, Ares, that was completely uncalled for."

"I'm not a _kid_," muttered Ares. "You can't order me around."

"Then stop acting like it!" snapped Hera.

**Corpse Breath will have Zeus's master bolt, so Zeus'll be mad at **_**him.**_

"And who are you calling Corpse Breath?" demanded Hades, his temper flaring. As if it wasn't enough that the stupid god had made everyone believe he was guilty…

"Be _quiet_," snapped Artemis, "so that we can finish this book!"

**And Hades is still looking for this..."**

**From his pocket he took out a ski cap–the kind bank robbers wear–and placed it between the handlebars of his bike. Immediately, the cap transformed into an elaborate bronze war helmet. **

"My helm," growled Hades. He glared at Ares. "You – _you_!"

"Calm _down_," Persephone ordered, glancing at her husband. "It would do you well to rein in your temper at times, my lord."

Hades raised an eyebrow at her. She was hardly ever this frosty.

Demeter beamed with pride. "Maybe you're finally realizing what a fool you were for marrying him!"

"For _falling in love_?" asked Persephone angrily. "I will never do any such thing, Mother. Now, son of Apollo, please read on before I attack both my mother _and_ my husband."

Looking surprised, Will hastened to read.

"**The helm of darkness," Grover gasped. **

"**Exactly," Ares said. "Now where was I? Oh yeah, Hades will be mad at both Zeus and Poseidon, because he doesn't know who took this. Pretty soon, we got a nice little three-way slugfest going."**

"**But they're your family!" Annabeth protested. **

Hestia smiled sadly. "Family has no worth anymore, daughter of Athena. Surely you inherited enough of your mother's wisdom to know that the deities, though practically all related, can hardly stand each other? Take your mother and her uncle, for instance."

Annabeth just smiled sadly in return. "I was an innocent twelve-year-old, Lady Hestia. I had barely an inkling of the real world. So I suppose I was under a false impression. But no matter."

**Ares shrugged. "Best kind of war. Always the bloodiest. Nothing like watching your relatives fight, I always say."**

"That's just sick," Frank remarked, looking faintly disgusted.

"Are you sure you're a brother of mine?" demanded Clarisse. "Kids of Ares and Mars need to _love_ war! Come on!"

Frank opened his mouth to defend himself, but, surprisingly, Ares beat him there. "You need to learn more about history, girl, because Mars is more levelheaded than I."

"**You gave me the backpack in Denver," I said. "The master bolt was in there the whole time."**

"**Yes and no," Ares said. "It's probably too complicated for your little mortal brain to follow, **

"That was really unfair," Hephaestus told his brother, frowning.

"Don't you worry your ugly little head about it," Ares snapped in return.

"Be quiet, kids!" Hera said sharply.

**but the backpack is the master bolt's sheath, just morphed a bit. The bolt is connected to it, sort of like that sword you got, kid. It always returns to your pocket, right?"**

"Stalkerish much?" asked Hermes.

**I wasn't sure how Ares knew about that, but I guess a god of war had to make it his business to know about weapons. **

"Yeah," grunted Ares.

"**Anyway," Ares continued, "I tinkered with the magic a bit, so the bolt would only return to the sheath once you reached the Underworld. You get close to Hades... Bingo, you got mail. **

"That's quite good," admitted Athena. "Not that it was for a good cause, though."

**If you died along the way–no loss. I still had the weapon."**

"But then…" Persephone looked confused. "If he wanted the weapon, why would he try to give it to Hades?"

"It makes no sense," agreed Jason.

"**But why not just keep the master bolt for yourself?" I said. "Why send it to Hades?"**

**Ares got a twitch in his jaw. For a moment, it was almost as if he were listening to another voice, deep inside his head. **

"Whoa…" Persephone breathed.

Athena beamed, knowing that she had figured it out. When she was younger, Demeter had forced Persephone to study under the great goddess of wisdom, and apparently, it had paid off.

"**Why didn't I... yeah... with that kind of firepower..."**

"That's interesting," commented Reyna, frowning.

"My bolt shouldn't be contaminated by his filthy hands," muttered Zeus.

"Don't speak of your son like that," Hera scolded him.

**He held the trance for one second... two seconds...**

**I exchanged nervous looks with Annabeth. **

**Ares's face cleared. "I didn't want the trouble. Better to have you caught redhanded, holding the thing."**

"**You're lying," I said. "Sending the bolt to the Underworld wasn't your idea, was it?"**

"Ooh, he's got it!" cheered Leo.

"And Ares is going _down_!" added Connor loudly.

"Whoop whoop!" yelled Travis.

Ares glared at them.

"**Of course it was!" Smoke drifted up from his sunglasses, as if they were about to catch fire. **

"Touchy, touchy," laughed Nico.

Thalia chuckled. "Good thing you're not afraid of death. You seem to be vying for it almost as much as Perce is."

"**You didn't order the theft," I guessed. "Someone else sent a hero to steal the two items. Then, when Zeus sent you to hunt him down, you caught the thief. But you didn't turn him over to Zeus. Something convinced you to let him go. You kept the items until another hero could come along and complete the delivery. That thing in the pit is ordering you around."**

Annabeth looked impressed. She turned her head to whisper in her boyfriend's ear, so that no one else would hear. "You were pretty close."

Percy chuckled quietly and nodded. "I was."

"**I am the god of war! I take orders from no one! I don't have dreams!"**

"Who said anything about dreams?" asked Poseidon, sitting upright quickly. "Did I miss something?"

His younger brother shook his head. "No. Just listen to the son of Apollo."

**I hesitated. "Who said anything about dreams?"**

"Like father like son," Hestia observed happily. Maybe one family would be able to prevail like none other. Then she remembered how gods and mortals couldn't live side-by-side, regardless of sharing a child, and her face fell.

**Ares looked agitated, but he tried to cover it with a smirk. **

"You didn't do too good a job," Percy informed Ares.

"**Let's get back to the problem at hand, kid. You're alive. I can't have you taking that bolt to Olympus. You just might get those hardheaded idiots to listen to you. So I've got to kill you. Nothing personal."**

"Oh, yeah," said Leo sarcastically. "I'm just gonna kill you, but don't worry. It's not like I hate you or anything."

**He snapped his fingers. The sand exploded at his feet and out charged a wild boar, even larger and uglier than the one whose head hung above the door of cabin seven at Camp Half-Blood. **

"Being a coward again?" asked Hephaestus in amusement.

Aphrodite scowled at her husband. "Don't call him a coward."

**The beast pawed the sand, glaring at me with beady eyes as it lowered its razor-sharp tusks and waited for the command to kill. **

**I stepped into the surf. "Fight me yourself, Ares."**

"Jackson agrees," Hephaestus told his wife, grinning.

Percy rolled his eyes. "I hate it when I'm dragged into an argument."

**He laughed, but I heard a little edge to his laughter... an uneasiness. "You've only got one talent, kid, running away. You ran from the Chimera. You ran from the Underworld. You don't have what it takes."**

"Coming from the god most commonly called a coward?" asked Thalia, raising an eyebrow. "Hypocritical much?"

"And you just set him off," Frank added, smiling.

"**Scared?"**

"**In your adolescent dreams." But his sunglasses were starting to melt from the heat of his eyes. "No direct involvement. Sorry, kid. You're not at my level."**

"Sounds like someone's _scared_," teased Apollo, clearly not fearful of the War God's wrath.

And perhaps he had good reason, because all Ares did was growl. "I'll get you one day, you irritating sun."

"I'm not a sun," Apollo protested indignantly.

"You are mine," Zeus snapped, "unfortunately."

Hera snorted. "Dear husband, they were speaking of the sun in the sky. _S-U-N_. Not the son of a parent. That's _S-O-N_. Can't keep track of English?"

Zeus flushed angrily. "You should know that when you know all the languages that have crossed the earth, my dear wife, that you mix them up sometimes. _Eskuin_?"

"Did you just say 'right' in Basque?" asked Persephone, surprised.

**Annabeth said, "Percy, run!"**

**The giant boar charged. **

**But I was done running from monsters. Or Hades, or Ares, or anybody. **

"Oh no," groaned Poseidon. "I thought that the dangers were gone."

"Not yet, Dad," chuckled Percy.

Poseidon stared at him. "I'm going to suffer multiple heart attacks throughout the series, aren't I?"

"Fraid so," Percy replied, grinning.

"Why did I ever decide to have you?"

Percy gasped, mock-offended. "Dad! That cuts _deep_!"

**As the boar rushed me, I uncapped my pen and sidestepped. Riptide appeared in my hands. I slashed upward. The boar's severed right tusk fell at my feet, while the disoriented animal charged into the sea.**

"Ooh, that's a _bad_ idea," muttered Hazel.

"Never go into the opponent's strength," agreed Reyna, smiling at her approvingly.

"Did Reyna just _smile_?" asked Jason teasingly.

"I smile plenty," returned Reyna sharply, though she was smiling again in the slightest.

**I shouted, "Wave!"**

"That's unfair!" whined Ares.

"Really?" asked Artemis, exasperation coloring her tone heavily. "That isn't unfair at all, my _dear, dear_ brother. If, no, _when_ you fight the boy, you'll be using all your godly powers, won't you? I daresay that's a bit more unfair than his channeling the powers he inherited."

**Immediately, a wave surged up from nowhere and engulfed the boar, wrapping around it like a blanket. The beast squealed once in terror. Then it was gone, swallowed by the sea. **

**I turned back to Ares. "Are you going to fight me now?" I asked. "Or are you going to hide behind another pet?"**

"And _that_ will set _him_ off," Hades remarked, glancing at Ares, who was fuming even as he knew his future self would act.

**Ares's face was purple with rage. "Watch it, kid. I could turn you into–"**

"**A cockroach," I said. "Or a tapeworm. Yeah, I'm sure. That'd save you from getting your godly hide whipped, wouldn't it?"**

"Oh, you're just asking for it," snarled Ares.

"I was," Percy mumbled.

Annabeth shook her head. "Reckless," she mouthed at him.

Percy shrugged, like, _What can I do?_

**Flames danced along the top of his glasses. "Oh, man, you are really asking to be smashed into a grease spot."**

"Like pizza…" drooled Hermes.

"With pepperoni… or bacon…" added Apollo dreamily.

"And you get _that_ from a grease spot?" asked Artemis. "Men."

"Pizza, pepperoni, and bacon are all pretty greasy," pointed out Will, before deflating under the goddess's rolling eyes and continuing to read.

"**If I lose, turn me into anything you want. Take the bolt. If I win, the helm and the bolt are mine and you have to go away."**

"That's a risky gamble, you do realize," Poseidon told his son.

Percy shrugged. "I was a _reckless_" – he glanced at Annabeth, smiling – "twelve-year-old, Dad. Of course it was a risky gamble."

Poseidon sighed. "I'd really rather not have to go to a funeral of yours anytime soon, but at the rate you're going, I might just have to."

"Thanks, Dad, that makes me optimistic and cheerful for my bright future," Percy replied dryly.

"No problem, son."

**Ares sneered. **

**He swung the baseball bat off his shoulder. "How would you like to get smashed: classic or modern?"**

Aphrodite looked faintly worried. "Oh, Perseus Jackson, you're going to be dead meat."

"I wonder what her reaction will be when I, the lowly, unfashionable demigod from Cabin Three, will beat her boyfriend, the mighty, fashionable, godly god born from Zeus and Hera," Percy whispered to Annabeth.

"Seaweed Brain, he might have been right," Annabeth said, looking exasperated. "You might just be _asking_ for it."

"For what?" he asked cheekily.

**I showed him my sword. **

"Classic," Ares clarified for his future self. "Huh. Interesting choice. That makes it all the more fun for me."

"Confident, isn't he?" asked Rachel.

"I'm the god of war, mortal," snapped Ares. "Of _course_ I'm confident. There's no way I'm going to lose to this punk."

"Apparently he's the god of dimwittedness too," Nico murmured, "because seeing as Percy's sitting right here, several years older than twelve, and alive, that should be a clue as to who won."

"Don't talk to my oracle like that!" Apollo chided his brother, frowning disapprovingly.

"**That's cool, dead boy," he said. "Classic it is." The baseball bat changed into a huge, two-handed sword. The hilt was a large silver skull with a ruby in its mouth. **

"**Percy," Annabeth said. "Don't do this. He's a god."**

"**He's a coward," I told her. **

"Oi!" protested Ares.

"You are," Zeus informed him. "Now be quiet."

**She swallowed. "Wear this, at least. For luck."**

**She took off her necklace, with her five years' worth of camp beads and the ring from her father, and tied it around my neck. **

"Aw," cooed Aphrodite. "The beginning of Percabeth!"

Annabeth and Percy glanced at each other.

"Great," Annabeth finally said in resignation, rolling her eyes.

"**Reconciliation," she said. "Athena and Poseidon together."**

"I'm not sure if I like that idea," Athena said, looking a bit sick.

**My face felt a little warm, but I managed a smile. "Thanks."**

"**And take this," Grover said. He handed me a flattened tin can that he'd probably been saving in his pocket for a thousand miles. "The satyrs stand behind you."**

"How sweet," murmured Hestia, smiling. "At least there is some goodness left in the world, amidst the evil."

"I couldn't have said it any better," agreed Demeter.

"**Grover... I don't know what to say."**

"Were you really touched by that?" asked Hera.

Percy nodded slowly. "I was, yeah, in a weird way."

**He patted me on the shoulder. I stuffed the tin can in my back pocket. **

"**You all done saying good-bye?" Ares came toward me, his black leather duster trailing behind him, his sword glinting like fire in the sunrise. "I've been fighting for eternity, kid. My strength is unlimited and I cannot die. **

"But you can surrender," Frank pointed out.

"And become injured," added Katie.

**What have you got?"**

**A smaller ego, I thought, but I said nothing. **

"Yeah, well, most everybody has a smaller ego than Ares," Hades commented.

"That's weird grammar," Persephone scolded her husband. "It should be 'almost everybody' or 'nearly everybody' or 'just about everybody'. Really, there are a million different ways you could have said that."

Hades just rolled his eyes.

"Don't roll your eyes at my daughter!" shrilled Demeter.

Sensing a heated argument coming on, Will hurriedly read on.

**I kept my feet in the surf, backing into the water up to my ankles. I thought back to what Annabeth had said at the Denver diner, so long ago: **_**Ares has strength. That's all he has. Even strength has to how to wisdom sometimes.**_

Athena smiled proudly. "Indeed it does. Strength is nothing if one has not the wisdom of how to wield it."

**He cleaved downward at my head, but I wasn't there. **

**My body thought for me. The water seemed to push me into the air and I catapulted over him, slashing as I came down. **

"I don't think I had ever been as grateful for H2O as I was during that fight. Well, before that, anyway," Percy remarked thoughtfully.

**But Ares was just as quick. He twisted, and the strike that should've caught him directly in the spine was deflected off the end of his sword hilt. **

"Should've, could've, and would've are different," Ares said, smirking.

**He grinned. "Not bad, not bad."**

**He slashed again and I was forced to jump onto dry land. **

Poseidon winced.

"Don't worry, Dad," muttered Percy, but not loud enough for the god to actually hear him, because he didn't want Ares to know the outcome just yet.

**I tried to sidestep, to get back to the water, but Ares seemed to know what I wanted. He outmaneuvered me, pressing so hard I had to put all my concentration on not getting sliced into pieces. **

The enticing aroma of buttery popcorn reached everyone's noses, and they all swiveled to stare at Ares. His throne had morphed into a comfortable, squashy blood-red armchair, and his feet were set comfortably on a footrest. In his lap was a gigantic bowl of movie-theater butter popcorn, and he was tossing kernels into his mouth lazily.

"This is good," he commented, referring to his beating the demigod up and not his heavenly-smelling popcorn.

**I kept backing away from the surf. I couldn't find any openings to attack. His sword had a reach several feet longer than Anaklusmos. **

_**Get in close**_**, Luke had told me once, back in our sword class. **_**When you've got the shorter blade, get in close. **_

Annabeth and Thalia winced. Trust Luke – no, trust _Kronos_ to be sure to know each and every one of Percy's strategies beforehand.

"Never trust anyone," murmured Annabeth quietly.

Thalia smiled sadly. "Society is messed up."

"No, war is."

**I stepped inside with a thrust, but Ares was waiting for that. He knocked my blade out of my hands and kicked me in the chest. I went airborne–twenty, maybe thirty feet. I would've broken my back if I hadn't crashed into the soft sand of a dune.**

"Aw, too bad," groaned Ares, though he kept tossing kernels into the air and then into his mouth. "But oh well. I'll get him soon."

"Should've, could've, and would've are different," Percy parroted the god's words back at him, smiling in relaxation.

"**Percy!" Annabeth yelled. "Cops!"**

**I was seeing double. My chest felt like it had just been hit with a battering ram, but I managed to get to my feet. **

"YES!" cheered Travis and Connor.

"Go Percy!" Connor added.

"Beat him up!" yelled Travis.

"Cheerleaders," growled Ares, crushing a handful of kernels into popcorn dust.

**I couldn't look away from Ares for fear he'd slice me in half, but out of the corner of my eye I saw red lights flashing on the shoreline boulevard. Car doors were slamming. **

"**There, officer!" somebody yelled. "See?"**

**A gruff cop voice: "Looks like that kid on TV... what the heck..."**

"**That guy's armed," another cop said. "Call for backup."**

"I wonder what they saw," mused Artemis.

"Must have been interesting," agreed Dionysus. "But still, a party would be more interesting." He yawned. "With alcohol, of course."

**I rolled to one side as Ares's blade slashed the sand. **

**I ran for my sword, scooped it up, and launched a swipe at Ares's face, only to find my blade deflected again. **

**Ares seemed to know exactly what I was going to do the moment before I did it. **

"Yup," Ares boasted.

**I stepped back toward the surf, forcing him to follow. **

"Good," murmured Poseidon, his eyes panicked. "Back into my domain."

Percy smiled slightly, hiding it behind his hand. Good to know his dad cared so much, even now.

"**Admit it, kid," Ares said. "You got no hope. I'm just toying with you."**

**My senses were working overtime. I now understood what Annabeth had said about ADHD keeping you alive in battle. I was wide awake, noticing every little detail. **

"That's exactly why demigods are gifted with it," Zeus bragged. "I mean, we can't have your corpses stinking up the earth, can we?"

"Like _you_ were the one to decide it," muttered Thalia, but she smiled sweetly at her father.

**I could see where Ares was tensing. I could tell which way he would strike. At the same time, I was aware of Annabeth and Grover, thirty feet to my left. I saw a second cop car pulling up, siren wailing. Spectators, people who had been wandering the streets because of the earthquake, were starting to gather. **

"That's always good," Clarisse remarked. "An audience to show off in front of."

**Among the crowd, I thought I saw a few who were walking with the strange, trotting gait of disguised satyrs. There were shimmering forms of spirits, too, as if the dead had risen from Hades to watch the battle. I heard the flap of leathery wings circling somewhere above. **

"Kindly Ones," mumbled Jason.

Reyna nodded slightly, agreeing.

"They better not be there to finish my son off," Poseidon threatened Hades.

Hades just shrugged. "This is in the future, brother. I can't be sure of my actions years from now."

**More sirens. **

**I stepped farther into the water, but Ares was fast. The tip of his blade ripped my sleeve and grazed my forearm. **

More than several people winced.

But Ares grinned. "Go me!" he cheered, tossing more popcorn into his mouth.

"Cheerleader," Travis mouthed to his brother, parroting the War God's words back at him.

Connor stifled a laugh.

**A police voice on a megaphone said, "Drop the guns. Set them on the ground. Now!"**

"Guns. Interesting," mused Dionysus, inhaling a whole can of Diet Coke.

Many of the readers gaped at him.

"What?" he snapped.

**Guns?**

**I looked at Ares's weapon, and it seemed to be flickering; sometimes it looked like a shotgun, sometimes a two-handed sword. I didn't know what the humans were seeing in my hands, but I was pretty sure it wouldn't make them like me. **

"Probably not," laughed Rachel.

**Ares turned to glare at our spectators, which gave me a moment to breathe. **

"Was that smart?" asked Athena, her war-strategic mind working again. "It gives the boy an opening."

Ares grumbled.

"Egos don't win fights," Hestia added.

**There were five police cars now, and a line of officers crouching behind them, pistols trained on us. **

"**This is a private matter!" Ares bellowed. "Be gone."**

"That sounds like they're dogs," snorted Nico.

"Dogs," laughed Thalia.

Annabeth looked at them oddly. "Okay…"

**He swept his hand, and a wall of red flame rolled across the patrol cars. **

Zeus winced. "Ares…" he warned.

"What?"

**The police barely had time to dive for cover before their vehicles exploded. **

Hestia frowned. "Well, that was unnecessary. I doubt the Mist would have let them see the brunt of the fight, nephew."

Ares just shrugged. "Aunt, it's in the future. I can't control it."

"But he'll do it anyway," muttered Percy.

**The crowd behind them scattered, screaming.**

**Ares roared with laughter. "Now, little hero. Let's add you to the barbecue."**

"I think not," growled Poseidon.

Percy laughed.

"What?" demanded Poseidon.

"Nothing. Just the way you phrased it," Percy defended himself, before he could be drenched with water – not that he'd get wet or feel it.

**He slashed. I deflected his blade. I got close enough to strike, tried to fake him out with a feint, but my blow was knocked aside. The waves were hitting me in the back now. **

Several people grinned.

Ares groaned.

Clarisse snarled, "That's unfair!"

"Like how I doused you with toilet water?" asked Percy innocently.

"Doused? Did you just use a big word?" asked Frank incredulously.

Percy mock-glared while Clarisse fumed silently and furiously at the reminder.

**Ares was up to his thighs, wading in after me.**

"That's just stupid," Athena said frankly.

"What?" asked Ares angrily.

"That's stupid!" Athena repeated herself. "You walking directly into his trap! Your ego will be your downfall one day, Ares. Just because you're a god doesn't mean you can beat the boy in his domain. Well, his father's domain. I daresay Poseidon will be on his side, and there's no way in Tartarus you can beat a demigod and Poseidon combined."

**I felt the rhythm of the sea, the waves growing larger as the tide rolled in, and suddenly I had an idea.**

"Usually, that's bad, but seeing as he's in the water…" Katie trailed off.

Percy gaped at her. "You too?"

Katie shrugged, grinning.

_**Little waves**_**, I thought. And the water behind me seemed to recede. I was holding back the tide by force of will, but tension was building, like carbonation behind a cork.**

**Ares came toward, grinning confidently. I lowered my blade, as if I were too exhausted to go on. **

"Knowing Ares, he fell for it," Aphrodite said, sighing. "Oh well. Maybe it humbled him a little, so he'd get me a _good_ gift for Valentine's Day for once."

Ares sputtered. "What are you talking about? I give you better gifts than the stupid blacksmith!"

"Immature much?" muttered Hephaestus as his wife replied haughtily, "You've never given me a box that spouts out whatever kind of makeup or perfume I want, have you? That's a pretty great Valentine's Day present."

Looking weirded out, Will continued.

_**Wait for it**_**, I told the sea. The pressure now was almost lifting me off my feet. Ares raised his sword. I released the tide and jumped, rocketing straight over Ares on a wave. **

"Ooh," breathed Hazel.

Reyna was smiling. "I think you just beat him, Percy."

"I think I did too," joked Percy, but he was smiling.

**A six-foot wall of water smashed him full in the face, leaving him cursing and sputtering with a mouth full of seaweed. I landed behind him with a splash and feinted toward his head, as I'd done before. He turned in time to raise his sword, but this time he was disoriented, he didn't anticipate the trick. **

"Didn't anticipate the trick? What are you talking about? I anticipate _every_ trick!" Ares said indignantly.

"Except this one, apparently," Artemis corrected him.

**I changed direction, lunged to the side, and stabbed Riptide straight down into the water, sending the point through the god's heel. **

Thunderous cheers broke out. Ares tossed the popcorn bowl on the ground in a childish tantrum, causing the bowl to splinter apart and popcorn to go rolling in all different directions. Clarisse leaned back in her chair, scowling about useless punks. Octavian looked grudgingly admiring, but that lasted for only a second. Dionysus just downed another Coke can.

"Go Perce!"

"Woo-hoo!"

"That's awesome!"

"Cool!"

"Excellent job, son!"

"It was respectable."

**The roar that followed made Hades's earthquake look like a minor event. The very sea was blasted back from Ares, leaving a wet circle of sand fifty feet wide. **

**Ichor, the golden blood of the gods, flowed from a gash in the war god's boot. The expression on his face was beyond hatred. It was pain, shock, complete disbelief that he'd been wounded. **

"Ooh, now you're doomed," Clarisse said, chuckling maliciously. "Thank the gods."

"You're not welcome," snapped Poseidon.

**He limped toward me, muttering ancient Greek curses. **

**Something stopped him. **

**It was as if a cloud covered the sun, but worse. Light faded. Sound and color drained away. A cold, heavy presence passed over the beach, slowing time, dropping the temperature to freezing, and making me feel like life was hopeless, fighting was useless. **

"Kronos," whispered Athena.

"What?" asked Zeus sharply, his eyes on his daughter.

Athena shook her head fervently. "Nothing!"

**The darkness lifted. **

**Ares looked stunned.**

"What a surprise," Hades said dryly.

"Yeah," added Nico. "He was just beaten by a twelve-year-old demigod. Of course he's stunned."

**Police cars were burning behind us. The crowd of spectators had fled. Annabeth and Grover stood on the beach, in shock, watching the water flood back around Ares's feet, his glowing golden ichor dissipating in the tide. **

Ares shivered.

"Not used to the sight?" teased Apollo.

**Ares lowered his sword.**

"**You have made an enemy, godling," he told me. "You have sealed your fate. Every time you raise your blade in battle, every time you hope for success, you will feel my curse. Beware, Perseus Jackson. Beware."**

Poseidon rolled his eyes. "His bark is worse than his bite," he told his son, though his voice betrayed some worry. Yes, Ares was a coward, but when he lost, he made good on his word.

Knowing this about himself, Ares grinned. Of course, he didn't agree with the coward part.

**His body began to glow. **

"Don't watch!" cried Piper.

Annabeth laughed. "I said exactly the same thing."

"**Percy!" Annabeth shouted. "Don't watch!"**

**I turned away as the god Ares revealed his true immortal form. I somehow knew that if I looked, I would disintegrate into ashes. **

"Somehow?" asked Athena, surprised.

Percy shrugged. "I don't think Chiron had time to explain that to me."

**The light died. **

**I looked back. Ares was gone. The tide rolled out to reveal Hades's bronze helm of darkness. **

"Yes!" cheered Hades.

Persephone rolled her eyes.

**I picked it up and walked toward my friends. **

**But before I got there, I heard the flapping of leathery wings. Three evil-looking grandmothers with lace hats and fiery whips **

"That's just weird," murmured Will before continuing:

**drifted down from the sky and landed in front of me. **

**The middle Fury, the one who had been Mrs. Dodds, stepped forward. Her fangs were bared, but for once she didn't look threatening. She looked more disappointed,**

"Disappointed?" echoed Nico, looking confused.

"Disappointed," clarified Will.

**as if she'd been planning to have me for supper, but had decided I might give her indigestion. **

"**We saw the whole thing," she hissed. "So... it truly was not you?"**

**I tossed her the helmet, which she caught in surprise.**

"**Return that to Lord Hades," I said. "Tell him the truth. Tell him to call off the war."**

"I probably won't believe a word Alecto spouts," groaned Hades. "But now, I probably will, seeing as I know the full story."

**She hesitated, then ran a forked tongue over her green, leathery lips. "Live well, Percy Jackson. Become a true hero. Because if you do not, if you ever come into my clutches again..."**

"Sounds promising," Persephone said, smiling.

"I was terrified," Percy informed her with a perfectly straight face.

**She cackled, savoring the idea. Then she and her sisters rose on their bats' wings, fluttered into the smoke-filled sky, and disappeared. **

**I joined Grover and Annabeth, who were staring at me in amazement. **

"**Percy..." Grover said. "That was so incredibly..."**

"**Terrifying," said Annabeth. **

"And Grover will call it cool," predicted Nico.

Annabeth and Percy glanced at each other, and then laughed together.

"**Cool!" Grover corrected.**

"See?!"

**I didn't feel terrified. **

"What happened to feeling _terrified_?" asked Persephone, laughing.

Hades scowled a little.

**I certainly didn't feel cool. I was tired and sore and completely drained of energy. **

"**Did you guys feel that... whatever it was?" I asked.**

**They both nodded uneasily.**

"Kronos," whispered Persephone.

Zeus's head swiveled sharply to his daughter. "What?"

"Nothing."

The king of the gods felt a sense of déjà vu.

"**Must've been the Furies overhead," Grover said. **

"Wishful thinking," Athena said quietly.

**But I wasn't so sure. Something had stopped Ares from killing me, and whatever could do that was a lot stronger than the Furies. **

**I looked at Annabeth, and an understanding passed between us. I knew now what was in that pit, what had spoken from the entrance of Tartarus. **

**I reclaimed my backpack from Grover and looked inside. The master bolt was still there. Such a small thing to almost cause World War III. **

"My bolt is no _small thing_!" protested Zeus.

"It is, actually," contradicted Hera pettily.

Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"**We have to get back to New York," I said. "By tonight."**

"**That's impossible," Annabeth said, "unless we–"**

"**Fly," I agreed. **

"Oh no. No, no, no," Poseidon said sharply, facing his son. "_You_ are not going into _his_ domain."

"Dad," Percy said solidly, "do you really think he'd blast me out of the sky if I was holding his master bolt? He'd never risk it."

Poseidon fell back, looking reluctant, but stayed silent. After all, his son was still alive.

**She stared at me. "Fly, like, in an airplane, which you were warned never to do lest Zeus strike you out of the sky, and carrying a weapon that has more destructive power than a nuclear bomb?"**

"**Yeah," I said. "Pretty much exactly like that. Come on."**

"Ooh, exciting," Will said, laughing. "Who's next?"

"Me!" volunteered Piper, and Will gave her the book.

Percy scoured his memory, and remembered what came next. He and Annabeth exchanged looks.

x.o.x.o.x.

A/N: There you are! Happy holidays, and I'll try to get the next chapter up by January 1, 2013! As your New Year's gift. ;) Stay safe!


	24. I Settle My Tab (Part I)

A/N: Happy New Year... And… sorry? I know this is WAY TOO LATE, but I've been having family problems and school has been, well, school. So, as it's been a month and I'm barely close to finishing this chapter, I'll give you part of it. The rest will be up sooner, I PROMISE! Enjoy, and I'm so sorry!

x.o.x.o.x.

Piper flipped to the correct chapter. "Only two chapters left to go, including this one," she observed. **I Settle My Tab**, she continued.

"Where are you, at a restaurant?" asked Octavian, snorting at the chapter title.

Percy rolled his eyes. "Oh, yeah, Octavian, I hold a weapon that could cause a three-way war if I don't return it by midnight, and I'm going to go to a _restaurant_."

**It's funny how humans can wrap their mind around things and fit them into their version of reality. Chiron had told me that long ago. As usual, I didn't appreciate his wisdom until much later. **

"Oh, yeah, definitely _as usual_," agreed Thalia.

"Ooh, that wounds me deep inside, Thals," Percy teased.

"The truth hurts," Nico jumped in, laughing.

The Big Three observed their children with interest. They seemed to get along a lot better than the brothers did.

**According to the L.A. News, the explosion at the Santa Monica beach had been caused when a crazy kidnapper fired a shotgun at a police car. He accidentally hit a gas main that had ruptured during the earthquake.**

Rachel looked slightly disgusted. "Okay, maybe sometimes, they _can_ be very ignorant. But really, there should be more fantasy writers out there. They come up with brilliant stories."

**This crazy kidnapper (a.k.a. Ares) was the same man who had abducted me and two other adolescents in New York and brought us across country on a ten-day odyssey of terror. **

"Too bad Homer's dead," sighed Travis.

"Er… why?" asked Annabeth, looking slightly fearful of the answer.

Smirking, Connor replied for his brother, "He could have written _The Odyssey, Part II_, starring Percy Jackson."

"We've already got a series of books about him," pointed out Leo.

"Did Leo 'Repair Boy' Valdez just say something that made sense?" teased Piper.

"Oh, shut up, beauty queen," Leo replied, glaring.

Laughing, Piper turned back to the book.

**Poor little Percy Jackson wasn't an international criminal after all. He'd caused a commotion on that Greyhound bus in New Jersey trying to get away from his captor (and afterward, witnesses would even swear they had seen the leather-clad man on the bus–"Why didn't I remember him before?"). **

"Oh, yeah, why _didn't_ you remember before?" asked Poseidon sarcastically.

"It would have saved them a lot of publicity on the quest," agreed Hera.

**The crazy man had caused the explosion in the St. Louis Arch. After all, no kid could've done that. **

Percy snorted.

"Most definitely! No kid could have done that!" agreed Frank, laughing.

"No normal kid, that is," added Hazel, grinning.

"It _had_ to be a demigod," finished Jason, laughing along with them.

**A concerned waitress in Denver had seen the man threatening his abductees outside her diner, gotten a friend to take a photo, and notified the police. Finally, brave Percy Jackson (I was beginning to like this kid) **

Reyna laughed. "Brave Percy Jackson indeed."

"Reyna!" gasped Percy. "You and Thalia… you both wound me!"

Thalia grinned at Reyna. "It's fun, isn't it, praetor?"

Nodding, Reyna agreed.

**had stolen a gun from his captor in Los Angeles and battled him shotgun-to-rifle on the beach. Police had arrived just in time. **

"Just in time to do _nothing_," mumbled Hephaestus.

Overhearing, Ares grumbled, "All for the better. If they interfered, it would have been a bloodbath. Not that I don't like that…"

"Running away from your hobby now too?" asked Hades, parroting Ares's accusation right back at him.

**But in the spectacular explosion, five police cars had been destroyed and the captor had fled. No fatalities had occurred. Percy Jackson and his two friends were safely in police custody. **

**The reporters fed us this whole story. We just nodded and acted tearful and exhausted (which wasn't hard), **

"The tearful part or the exhausted part?" teased Leo.

Annabeth grinned. "Well… for me, exhausted. For goat boy and Seaweed Brain, both."

"Are you joining them too?" asked Percy, laughing. "I'm getting ganged up on!"

**and played victimized kids for the cameras. **

"**All I want," I said, choking back my tears, "is to see my loving stepfather again. **

"Loving?" demanded Poseidon.

"Don't worry, his sarcasm will come back," Dionysus assured his uncle. He scowled, gulping Diet Coke. "I can't believe I'll have to deal with that sarcasm in the future."

"More like _Chiron_ will deal with it and he'll just sit there losing at cards and drinking Diet Coke," murmured Percy.

**Every time I saw him on TV, calling me a delinquent punk, I knew... somehow... we would be okay. And I know he'll want to reward each and every person in this beautiful city of Los Angeles with a free major appliance from his store. **

"GENIUS!" yelled Leo, Travis, and Connor.

"That _is_ pretty smart," Katie said, smiling at Percy.

"Yeah, I can't wait to see Smelly Gabe's reaction!" Will agreed.

**Here's the phone number." The police and reporters were so moved that they passed around the hat and raised money for three tickets on the next plane to New York. **

Raising an eyebrow, Athena said, "That's no mean feat. Three tickets to New York from nearly all the way across the country?"

Annabeth smiled. "We did well," she agreed.

**I knew there was no choice but to fly. I hoped Zeus would cut me some slack, considering the circumstances. **

"Considering that he's holding my precious bolt, I probably will," admitted Zeus.

Hera snorted. "If he was holding me, you wouldn't have."

"I kind of hope I won't ever be holding her," Percy whispered, and then winced, remembering that he did.

**But it was still hard to force myself on board the flight. **

**Takeoff was a nightmare. Every spot of turbulence was scarier than a Greek monster. I didn't unclench my hands from the armrests until we touched down safely at La Guardia. **

Smiling despite herself, Athena told her daughter's boyfriend, "Clenching the armrests wouldn't save you from dying, you know."

Percy just shrugged. "It seemed like a stress reliever at the time."

**The local press was waiting for us outside security, but we managed to evade them thanks to Annabeth, who lured them away in her invisible Yankees cap, shouting, "They're over by the frozen yogurt! Come on!," then rejoined us at baggage claim.**

**We split up at the taxi stand. I told Annabeth and Grover to get back to Half-Blood Hill and let Chiron know what had happened. **

"What?" asked Piper, interrupting herself. "You let him?"

Annabeth shrugged helplessly.

"That's not like you," agreed Nico.

**They protested, and it was hard to let them go after all we'd been through, but I knew I had to do this last part of the quest by myself. If things went wrong, if the gods didn't believe me... I wanted Annabeth and Grover to survive to tell Chiron the truth.**

"Oh, don't worry. The gods _will_ believe you," Poseidon said quietly.

"And now we definitely will," Zeus admitted, "because we've read the book and know the true truth."

**I hopped in a taxi and headed into Manhattan. **

**Thirty minutes later, I walked into the lobby of the Empire State Building. **

**I must have looked like a homeless kid, with my tattered clothes and my scraped-up face. I hadn't slept in at least twenty-four hours. **

Picturing that, Poseidon winced. "You were twelve, son. Couldn't you have tried to sleep at least some?"

"Dad, I was on a time-tight quest," Percy reminded him.

Annabeth reached over and gripped Percy's hand. "None of us liked it, especially not Grover, but we had to."

Percy smiled at Annabeth, silently thanking her.

**I went up to the guard at the front desk and said, "Six hundredth floor."**

"Will it be a mortal or someone who knows?" mused Artemis.

**He was reading a huge book with a picture of a wizard on the front. I wasn't much into fantasy, but the book must've been good, because the guard took a while to look up. "No such floor, kiddo."**

"He won't be deterred that quickly," Annabeth said fondly. "He's stupid and idiotic at times, but he's stubborn."

Percy grinned at her and kissed her sweetly. "Thanks, Wise Girl."

"Disgust," Travis commented, miming sticking a finger down his throat.

Katie frowned and glared at him. "It's cute, Travis!"

"**I need an audience with Zeus."**

**He gave me a vacant smile. "Sorry?"**

"**You heard me."**

"Ooh, he's doomed," Hazel remarked.

"Yeah, Percy's never gonna stop," agreed Frank.

"Love you guys too," Percy laughed.

**I was about to decide this guy was just a regular mortal, and I'd better run for it before he called the straitjacket patrol, **

"So much for your prediction," Leo said to Frank and Hazel.

Nico intervened with, "Not completely. Percy's going to take out the big guns."

"Almost literally," murmured Percy.

**when he said, "No appointment, no audience, kiddo. Lord Zeus doesn't see anyone unannounced."**

"**Oh, I think he'll make an exception." I slipped off my backpack and unzipped the top. **

Thalia glanced at Nico. "You're pretty predictable, Percy," she observed conversationally.

"I feel the love, Thals," returned Percy.

**The guard looked inside at the metal cylinder, not getting what it was for a few seconds. Then his face went pale. "That isn't..."**

"**Yes, it is," I promised. "You want me take it out and–"**

"Don't you dare," Zeus warned. "It's already contaminated enough. We don't need you _using_ it as well."

"Really!" gasped Percy. "I'm _really_ feeling the love!"

"**No! No!" He scrambled out of his seat, fumbled around his desk for a key card, then handed it to me. "Insert this in the security slot. Make sure nobody else is in the elevator with you."**

"Score!" Travis yelled.

**I did as he told me. As soon as the elevator doors closed, I slipped the key into the slot. The card disappeared and a new button appeared on the console, a red one that said 600. **

"Oh, the wonders of modern technology," sighed Hephaestus.

**I pressed it and waited, and waited.**

"You can wait?" Annabeth teased lightly.

"I waited for you," Percy pointed out, "as you did for me."

A slow smile spread across Annabeth's face. "Yes you did."

**Muzak played. "Raindrops keep falling on my head..."**

**Finally, **_**ding**_**. The doors slid open. I stepped out and almost had a heart attack. **

Zeus gasped, offended. "How dare you? People don't have _heart attacks_ when faced with my Olympus! You are _shocked_! You are _impressed_! You are _envious_! You are _compelled to bow down to me_!"

"Dramatic," sang Hades.

"You have a terrible singing voice, Uncle H," Apollo informed him bluntly and with a cheerful smile, completely impervious to his uncle's responding glower.

"And anyway," added Poseidon, "I'm never shocked, impressed, or envious at the sight of your measly palace, brother." His voice was lightly conversational, as if he were discussing the weather and not insulting his brother's pride and joy – and the aforementioned pride and joy did not happen to be any of his hordes of children. "And I most definitely am _not_ compelled to bow down to you."

**I was standing on a narrow stone walkway in the middle of the air. **

"That might be the cause of the almost heart attack," Hera said both logically and in a placating manner.

"Thank the gods," murmured Dionysus. "I doubt I have enough Diet Coke to withstand one of Zeus's temper tantrums."

"You have access to all the Diet Coke in the world, idiot," snapped Zeus testily, glaring fiercely at his son.

"Yes, but I prefer alcohol," Dionysus said lightly.

**Below me was Manhattan, from the height of an airplane. In front of me, white marble steps wound up the spine of a cloud, into the sky. My eyes followed the stairway to its end, where my brain just could not accept what I saw. **

**Look again, my brain said. **

Nico snorted. "Your brain is talking now?"

"Well, depending on how you look at it, brains are _always_ talking," Annabeth pointed out.

"You know what I mean," Nico replied, but not unkindly.

Remembering what he had thought after the brain talking, Percy stifled a smile.

**We're looking, my eyes insisted. It's really there. **

"And now, apparently, his eyes are talking," Rachel said in amusement.

Several demigods looked at Annabeth.

"What?" she asked. "Do you want me to tell you that eyes talk? They express."

"Wise Girl," teased Percy. "Express."

"Yes, Seaweed Brain. Express," Annabeth replied, but she was unable to contain the smile that spread across her face.

**From the top of the clouds rose the decapitated peak of a mountain, its summit covered with snow. Clinging to the mountainside were dozens of multileveled palaces–a city of mansions–**

"Yup, a city of mansions," agreed Zeus. "And mine is the biggest of all."

"Did the King of the Gods just say _yup_?" asked Will in disbelief.

"Your sons are so insolent, Apollo," sighed Zeus.

"They're your grandchildren," sang Apollo, just to irk his father further.

Zeus groaned. "That makes me feel old."

"You _are_ a few millennia old. I think that constitutes as old," added Percy, earning himself a glower from the king of the gods.

"And your children just add to the insolent mix all the more," Zeus snapped at his brother, who smiled with the air of attempting to placate.

"Don't worry, brother. We all know you would have the worst genes if you had DNA," Poseidon retorted. He glanced at his niece and nephew. "Be glad you didn't inherit many of his traits."

**all with white-columned porticos, gilded terraces, and bronze braziers glowing with a thousand fires. Roads wound crazily up to the peak, where the largest palace gleamed against the snow. **

"Mine," Zeus said importantly.

"Sometimes it's more than just a palace to represent your character," commented Thalia.

The Romans gaped at her.

"How did you not get killed?" demanded Hazel.

Grinning cheekily, Thalia said, "Well, one, Lady Artemis would never allow Father to kill me. And two, my father would never kill me."

"Don't be so sure, Thalia," Zeus warned.

**Precariously perched gardens bloomed with olive trees and rosebushes. I could make out an open-air market filled with colorful tents, a stone amphitheater built on one side of the mountain, a hippodrome and a coliseum on the other. It was an Ancient Greek city, except it wasn't in ruins. **

Laughing, Piper remarked sarcastically, "Just a minor difference."

"Are you insulting my observations?" joked Percy.

"Isn't it easy to?" teased Annabeth in return.

**It was new, and clean, and colorful, the way Athens must've looked twenty-five hundred years ago. **

Athena nodded. "Athens truly was beautiful."

"Because it was named after you?" asked Poseidon shrewdly.

The Wisdom Goddess glowered at him. "I do not think objects or places or people are beautiful simply for selfish reasons."

"That's what she said," muttered Leo.

Annabeth glared at him, thinking that he was lucky her mother hadn't overheard.

**This place can't be here, I told myself. The tip of a mountain hanging over New York City like a billion-ton asteroid? How could something like that be anchored above the Empire State Building, in plain sight of millions of people, and not get noticed?**

"Isn't it amazing what the Mist can do?" asked Katie rhetorically.

"Amazing," agreed Rachel.

**But here it was. And here I was. **

**My trip through Olympus was a daze. I passed some giggling wood nymphs who threw olives at me from their garden. **

"That isn't very nice," Hestia observed, frowning in disapproval.

"And their throws weren't too gentle either," muttered Percy.

**Hawkers in the market offered to sell me ambrosia-on-a-stick, **

"Ambrosia-on-a-stick?" repeated Frank, looking slightly disgusted.

Hermes gasped. "Of course! It's delish!"

Travis glanced at his brother. "Did you just say _delish_?" both boys demanded of their father.

"What?" was Hermes's intelligent answer.

**and a new shield, and a genuine glitter-weave replica of the Golden Fleece, as seen on Hephaestus-TV. The nine muses were tuning their instruments for a concert in the park while a small crowd gathered–satyrs and naiads and a bunch of good-looking teenagers who might've been minor gods and goddesses. **

"But nobody's as good-looking as me," Apollo bragged.

"Actually, plenty of people are more attractive," Athena informed him. Her voice grew wise as she added, "The personality is much more important than the appearance."

Will winced. "Everyone says that to cheer people up, but in society these days, there's not a lick of truth in it."

Reyna agreed. "Very true, son of Apollo. Even if a person had the best personality in the world but the ugliest looks, no one would spare that person smallest of glances or speak to the person long enough to find out about the prized personality."

Athena looked frustrated. "I was trying to make a point to my thick-headed half-brother, not start a debate!"

Annabeth cringed. It was not her mother's best decade. "You of all people should know that it's best to think of the consequences of your actions or words before actually speaking, Mother."

Athena threw her hands into the air. "Daughter, shouldn't you be on my side?"

Shrugging, Annabeth responded, "You should also know that your children take the side of those who are correct, and not those who are wrong."

"That's shallow," observed Percy.

Annabeth shrugged again. "Yeah. I know. But it's our nature. But then again, if you were wrong and I was in a good mood, I'd probably take your side out of loyalty, Seaweed Brain." She winked to show that she was kidding.

"So I have a selfish girlfriend," teased Percy. "Even a little… female-dog-like, wouldn't you say?"

"Shut it," growled Annabeth, pushing him playfully.

Reyna observed the scene with mild envy.

**Nobody seemed worried about an impending civil war. In fact, everybody seemed in a festive mood. Several of them turned to watch me pass, and whispered to themselves.**

"Gossips," remarked Artemis disapprovingly. "Thank the gods my Hunters frown upon gossip."

Thalia grinned. "But we wouldn't say no to some at times," she murmured so that only her cousins and Annabeth could hear.

**I climbed the main road, toward the big palace at the peak. It was a reverse copy of the palace in the Underworld. **

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Hades, immediately going on the defense.

Persephone rolled her eyes. "Calm down, my lord.

**There, everything had been black and bronze. Here, everything glittered white and silver. **

**I realized Hades must've built his palace to resemble this one. He wasn't welcomed in Olympus except on the winter solstice, so he'd built his own Olympus underground. Despite my bad experience with him, I felt a little sorry for the guy. To be banished from this place seemed really unfair. It would make anybody bitter.**

"Bitter, yes," Hades said. "I don't need pity, though." He shot a glare at his nephew.

"Oh, be quiet, Hades," Hestia scolded. "The boy's being a good person."

"I suspect he wouldn't know what a good person was even if such an idea were kicking him in the butt," Persephone told her aunt darkly.

**Steps led up to a central courtyard. Past that, the throne room. **

**Room really isn't the right word. The place made Grand Central Station look like a broom closet. **

"As it should," boasted Zeus. "Grand Central is tiny. I have no idea why mortals find it so fascinating."

"Perhaps because they've never seen Olympus?" suggested Percy smartly.

Zeus rolled his eyes. "His insolence comes from you, brother," he told Poseidon.

"At least someone takes my view," agreed Athena heartily.

**Massive columns rose to a domed ceiling, which was gilded with moving constellations. **

Artemis smiled. "The stars."

Remembering Zoë, Thalia also smiled at the goddess. "Yes, the stars are beautiful."

"I've selected a wonderful replacement for Zoë, Lieutenant Thalia."

"Thank you, my lady. That is a great honor," Thalia responded.

**Twelve thrones, built for beings the size of Hades, **

"Built for beings the size of _all of us_," Dionysus corrected, "brat. Obviously. It's not only Hades who can become huge."

Hades rolled his eyes. "Defensive much, Dionysus?"

**were arranged in an inverted U, just like the cabins at Camp Half-Blood. An enormous fire crackled in the central hearth pit. **

Hestia smiled. "My hearth."

"And you're wonderful at it," Persephone complimented her aunt. "At being the peacekeeper and keeping us all warm."

Hestia laughed, a musical sound that sent warmth coursing through many moods. "We _are_ godly beings, my dear Persephone. I doubt we'd meet our end by hypothermia. But thank you. That's very kind of you."

**The thrones were empty except for two at the end: the head throne on the right, and the one to its immediate left. **

Poseidon and Zeus glanced at each other.

**I didn't have to be told who the two gods were that were sitting there, waiting for me to approach. I came toward them, my legs trembling. **

"Coward," mumbled Ares.

Poseidon shot him a sharp glare. "Even the bravest get scared, nephew. As George R.R. Martin wrote in_ A Game of Thrones_, 'Can a man still be brave if he's afraid?' 'That is the only time a man can be brave.'"

Annabeth smiled, reaching over to grasp Percy's hand. "It sounds exactly like something my mother would say. Your father isn't all dense, Seaweed Brain."

Percy grinned at her. "Don't let either of them hear that, Wise Girl. I don't think either of them would be too happy."

"Probably not," agreed Annabeth.

**The gods were in giant human form, as Hades had been, but I could barely look at them without feeling a tingle, as if my body were starting to burn. **

"I think that's the point," said Hermes, stealing a glance at his father, who was looking immensely accomplished.

**Zeus, the Lord of the Gods, wore a dark blue pinstriped suit. He sat on a simple throne of solid platinum. **

"Simple?!" demanded Zeus.

"Less is more," Hestia reminded her brother calmly. "Calm, brother, calm."

**He had a well-trimmed beard, marbled gray and black like a storm cloud. His face was proud and handsome and grim, his eyes rainy gray. **

**As I got nearer to him, the air crackled and smelled of ozone. **

Zeus smirked. "I don't need my bolt. I can still terrify mortals to death."

"I think that's more my forte, brother," Hades contradicted dryly.

"And without your bolt, you're all talk and no action," added Hera. "You're kind of crazy without it, either, as we've heard." She sniffed. "The stupid bolt is supposedly very important to you, more so than your own family."

"She's one to preach about family values," muttered Annabeth, "and loyalty."

"She's never committed infidelity, but she did throw Hephaestus off Olympus, plus she dropped a statue on Thalia," Nico agreed.

**The god sitting next to him was his brother, without a doubt, but he was dressed very differently. He reminded me of a beachcomber from Key West. **

Poseidon laughed heartily. "That's the idea, son." Then he frowned. "Too bad. I look enough like Zeus to be clearly his brother. Am I really that unattractive?"

"Yes," Athena said bluntly.

"But not so much as Zeus," added Hades.

Zeus scowled.

Octavian did as well. "I thought the gods were above arguing over such trivial matters."

"Are they trivial because you couldn't argue any of the points?" asked Katie innocently.

Octavian's face was blank for a moment, but then the thinly veiled insult struck him, and he glowered fiercely at the daughter of Demeter.

**He wore leather sandals, khaki Bermuda shorts, and a Tommy Bahama shirt with coconuts and parrots all over it. **

"Parrots?" repeated Connor.

"Parrots," confirmed Percy.

"Parrots!" chortled Travis.

**His skin was deeply tanned, his hands scarred like an old-time fisherman's. His hair was black, like mine. His face had that same brooding look that had always gotten me branded a rebel. **

"Oh, Poseidon's definitely a rebel," Demeter said. She glared a Hades. "But not so much as my _dear brother_."

"Mother." Persephone's voice was so sharp, Demeter jumped. "Drop it. You are akin to a four-year-old, unable to let go of something that happened _millennia _ago."

"Kore! How dare you speak like that to your mother?"

"My name is _Persephone_," stressed Persephone. "I'm no longer your little girl, Mother. I love you, but you hold a grudge that should have been dropped centuries ago."

**But his eyes, sea-green like mine, were surrounded by sun-crinkles that told me he smiled a lot, too.**

**His throne was a deep-sea fisherman's chair. It was the simple swiveling kind, with a black leather seat and a built-in holster for a fishing pole. Instead of a pole, the holster held a bronze trident, flickering with green light around the tips.**

"Which is much more effective than a fishing pole, I bet," Leo commented.

"You don't say, repair boy!" Piper shot back sarcastically.

"I _do_ say," sassed Leo.

**The gods weren't moving or speaking, but there was tension in the air, as if they'd just finished an argument. **

"Knowing them, they probably did," Hera said disapprovingly.

"You two need some big lessons on keeping family peace," agreed Hestia, looking at her brothers sternly.

**I approached the fisherman's throne and knelt at his feet. "Father." **

"Ooh," groaned Apollo. "He just made Dad hate him on sight. You're supposed to greet him first, kid."

"I heard," muttered Percy.

**I dared not look up. My heart was racing. I could feel the energy emanating from the two gods. If I said the wrong thing, I had no doubt they could blast me into dust.**

"I think you already made strike one on your scorecard," murmured Hermes.

"Any idiot with half a brain knows that the king is always the first to be greeted," Clarisse remarked in a 'duh' tone.

"Did you at twelve?" snapped Nico.

"Yes," shot back Clarisse.

**To my left, Zeus spoke. "Should you not address the master of this house first, boy?"**

"And the volcano erupts," cried Frank melodramatically.

"A pretty puny volcano," replied Reyna.

"**Peace, brother," Poseidon finally said. His voice stirred my oldest memories: that warm glow I remembered as a baby, the sensation of this god's hand on my forehead, "The boy defers to his father. This is only right."**

Hestia sighed. "At least you're going to let him talk. You aren't as irrational as our king."

"**You still claim him then?" Zeus asked, menacingly. "You claim this child whom you sired against our sacred oath?"**

"You really should have gone into dramatics, Father," Thalia told him.

"Pardon?"

Jason jumped in. "I agree with my sister, Dad. You _did_ have two children while bound by that oath."

"**I have admitted my wrongdoing," Poseidon said. **

"Ooh, wrong thing to say," singsonged Rachel. "One doesn't need to be an Oracle to know that."

"Wrongdoing," snapped Will. "This is what's wrong with the gods. They have children, and then care absolutely nothing for them."

"**Now I would hear him speak."**

**Wrongdoing. **

**A lump welled up in my throat. **

"Prissy," sneered Clarisse.

"Yes, who _cries_ at such a trivial thing?" asked Octavian snidely.

Frank glared at his half-sister, though of a different form, and at the auger. "Just because you don't have people who love you doesn't mean other people don't."

"Burn!" yelled Leo.

**Was that all I was? A wrongdoing? The result of a god's mistake?**

"Of course not!" exclaimed Hazel.

"Luckily, Perce here had high self-esteem, even back then," teased Thalia.

Hestia frowned. "This isn't exactly a good time to tease, Miss Grace," she chastised gently in only a way the goddess could.

Thalia looked properly abashed. "Sorry," she murmured.

"**I have spared him once already," Zeus grumbled. "Daring to fly through my domain... pah! I should have blasted him out of the sky for his impudence."**

"And risk destroying your master bolt?" Poseidon asked. "You know you'd never do any such thing, brother."

Hera agreed. "He'd rather toss me off Olympus and forbid me from returning than blast his one true love, his bolt, out of the sky, a rival of his children or not."

"Wait – that can happen?" asked Annabeth hopefully.

"Be quiet, daughter of Athena," snapped Hera.

"**And risk destroying your own master bolt?" Poseidon asked calmly. **

"You don't change much," Hestia remarked to her brother, smiling.

"No, I don't," agreed Poseidon.

"It would take centuries to truly change, though, I suppose," jumped in Hephaestus. "I mean, we _are_ immortal, and with all the time in the world and beyond to change, we can take our time going about it."

"Your dad's pretty smart," Jason told Leo, who shrugged and nodded.

"And your mom sounds like she was too," added Piper, and then gained a mischievous glint in her eye. "I wonder where your dense genes came from?"

"These things must skip a generation," Leo said with a completely straight face. "Read, beauty queen."

Overhearing, Annabeth burst out laughing. Either Leo meant his maternal grandparents, which she doubted, or Zeus and Hera, which was much more likely.

"**Let us hear him out, brother."**

**Zeus grumbled some more. "I shall listen," he decided. "Then I shall make up my mind whether or not to cast this boy down from Olympus."**

"Melodramatic!" sang Apollo.

"You're one to talk," grumbled Artemis.

"You love me, sis!"

"Debatable."

"**Perseus," Poseidon said. "Look at me."**

**I did, and I wasn't sure what I saw in his face. There was no clear sign of love or approval. **

Poseidon winced. "That would seem plastic and fake. I've been absent for your whole life. Being approving or loving would be taken for granted. But I've lived for thousands of years. I learned."

"That's surprising," muttered Athena.

Poseidon merely glanced at her, then cut his gaze back to his son.

Percy nodded slowly. "That's exactly what I was thinking, Dad."

**Nothing to encourage me. It was like looking at the ocean: some days, you could tell what mood it was in. Most days, though, it was unreadable, mysterious.**

"That's what I love most about the ocean," admitted Nico.

"Me too," agreed Thalia. "It's like it has split personalities."

Zeus and Hades both looked thunderous.

"You enjoy my brother's domain more than my own?" demanded Zeus of his daughter.

"The sea is nothing compared to the Underworld!" added Hades.

Poseidon wisely kept out of this argument.

Nico shrugged nonchalantly. "I love the ocean, Dad, but

**I got the feeling Poseidon really didn't know what to think of me. He didn't know whether he was happy to have me as a son or not. In a strange way, I was glad that Poseidon was so distant. **

"Good," Poseidon breathed, clearly relieved. "I'm sorry for my future self if he was ever a jerk to you, son."

"Don't worry about it," Percy replied.

**If he'd tried to apologize, or told me he loved me, or even smiled, it would've felt fake. Like a human dad, making some lame excuse for not being around. **

"That's a logical way of looking at it," Reyna said approvingly.

Percy grinned. "I try to be logical."

"And usually fail," Annabeth teased.

**I could live with that. After all, I wasn't sure about him yet, either. **

"**Address Lord Zeus, boy," Poseidon told me. "Tell him your story."**

"You're pretty melodramatic too, Uncle P," Hermes said conversationally.

Poseidon rolled his eyes. "Thanks, Hermes."

**So I told Zeus everything, just as it had happened. I took out the metal cylinder, which began sparking in the Sky God's presence, and laid it at his feet. **

Zeus let out an immense breath. "Thank the gods!"

"You're welcome!" the two cheeky ones, Apollo and Hermes of course, replied automatically.

Their father glared at them, but they shrugged, unaffected.

**There was a long silence, broken only by the crackle of the hearth fire.**

**Zeus opened his palm. The lightning bolt flew into it. As he closed his fist, the metallic points flared with electricity, until he was holding what looked more like the classic thunderbolt, a twenty-foot javelin of arcing, hissing energy **

"Cliché," muttered Zeus. "My thunderbolt is so much more than something _classic_."

"It is classic," pointed out Ares.

"Shut up."

"Resorting to childishness?" asked Hera.

**that made the hairs on my scalp rise.**

"**I sense the boy tells the truth," Zeus muttered. "But that Ares would do such a thing... it is most unlike him."**

"**He is proud and impulsive," Poseidon said. "It runs in the family."**

"Yes it does," Demeter said in amusement.

"**Lord?" I asked.**

**They both said, "Yes?"**

"And out comes the pride," chuckled Dionysus.

"You have plenty of it yourself," retorted Ares sharply.

x.o.x.o.x.

A/N: So there you are. Part of a chapter. I'll try my best to get the rest up in at least two weeks. AND THIS WEATHER IS DRIVING ME CRAZY! Sorry, had to put that in there. I hope you're all well, and I'M SO SORRY FOR THE TERRIBLE DELAY!


	25. Author's Note

A/N: I know I said I'd try to get up the REST of the chapter by today, but I'm afraid that's just not possible. :( Soon, though, I promise! Well, as soon as I can sit down and complete the chapter. 

If you're in the line of the blizzard, please stay safe and warm! I can't believe we could get up to two feet of snow! So please, stay safe and warm! Here's a little preview of what I have for the rest of the chapter… (and because you can't have a whole chapter be an author's note)…

Dionysus opened his mouth to retort angrily, but Zeus cut him off and stopped his sons' fight with a raised hand. "You both are acting insanely childish. Stop it so that the child of Aphrodite can read."

Piper frowned a bit in disapproval at being called 'child of Aphrodite', but she knew better than to correct the King of the Gods. She wasn't foolish, nor Percy or Jason, that much was positive.

"**Ares didn't act alone. Someone else–something else–came up with the idea."**

Hades let out a breath of relief. Powerful and ancient as he was, he would not wage a civil war among the gods, especially not a three-way one. Nor would he want that to further taint his already terrible reputation.

Persephone, though seated several seats from her husband, smiled inwardly. She knew the god well enough to know that Hades truly did not have a cold heart.

**I described my dreams, and the feeling I'd had on the beach, that momentary breath of evil that had seemed to stop the world, and made Ares back off from killing me.**

"It would take something strong as Sisyphus to get _that_ to happen," Athena muttered.

Hades chuckled at his niece. "Pallas Athene, you seem to be losing your touch. Sisyphus may spend his afterlife pushing that rock up and down, but he's strong enough to get Ares to stop from killing someone."


	26. I Settle My Tab (Part II)

Dionysus opened his mouth to retort angrily, but Zeus cut him off and stopped his sons' fight with a raised hand. "You both are acting insanely childish. Stop it so that the child of Aphrodite can read."

Piper frowned a bit in disapproval at being called 'child of Aphrodite', but she knew better than to correct the King of the Gods. She wasn't foolish, nor Percy or Jason, that much was positive.

"**Ares didn't act alone. Someone else–something else–came up with the idea."**

Hades let out a breath of relief. Powerful and ancient as he was, he would not wage a civil war among the gods, especially not a three-way one. Nor would he want that to further taint his already terrible reputation.

Persephone, though seated several seats from her husband, smiled inwardly. She knew the god well enough to know that Hades truly did not have a cold heart.

**I described my dreams, and the feeling I'd had on the beach, that momentary breath of evil that had seemed to stop the world, and made Ares back off from killing me.**

"It would take something strong as Sisyphus to get _that_ to happen," Athena muttered.

Hades chuckled at his niece. "Pallas Athene, you seem to be losing your touch. Sisyphus may spend his afterlife pushing that rock up and down, but he's strong enough to get Ares to stop from killing someone."

"**In the dreams," I said, "the voice told me to bring the bolt to the Underworld. Ares hinted that he'd been having dreams, too. I think he was being used, just as I was, to start a war."**

"Amazing the impact two beings can have on the world, isn't it?" mused Reyna.

"Maybe," Annabeth replied, "but Ares and Percy weren't the only ones who contributed. Two surely cannot bring about the end of the world just yet." Her voice was slightly cryptic, as she wasn't sure if Reyna or the other Romans knew about Luke yet.

"**You are accusing Hades, after all?" Zeus asked.**

"You better not be!" Nico and Hades said as one.

Hades glanced at his son in surprise, but Nico was steadfastly ignoring him, eyes on the book in Piper's hands. He couldn't explain why he felt a twinge of hurt. Persephone, reading it in his eyes, smiled slightly, coming over briefly to grasp his hand.

"You've been cold to him, my lord, and I'm not even sure he knows what he's doing," she soothed him before returning to her throne.

"**No," I said. **

"Good," snapped Hades, pretending to recover quickly from his hurt of Nico's ignorance.

Hazel shifted uncomfortably, wondering if her father, even in his Greek form, would be as hurt as this if _she_ had ignored him. After all, she and Nico were her father's only surviving demigod children.

"**I mean, Lord Zeus, I've been in the presence of Hades. This feeling on the beach was different. It was the same thing I felt when I got close to that pit. That was the entrance to Tartarus, wasn't it? Something powerful and evil is stirring down there... something even older than the gods."**

"Kronos," whispered Artemis. A look of disgust twisted onto her face. "Our grandfather."

Percy also looked disgusted. "That was our _grandfather_," he hissed to Thalia and Nico, both of whom also adopted sickened looks.

"Thank the gods that gods don't have DNA, otherwise…" Thalia trailed off.

**Poseidon and Zeus looked at each other. They had a quick, intense discussion in Ancient Greek. I only caught one word. **_**Father.**_

"It must have been _really_ fast," observed Connor.

"Faster than a slip on a banana!" Leo added.

"Right…" said Katie, looking at him weirdly.

**Poseidon made some kind of suggestion, but Zeus cut him off. Poseidon tried to argue. Zeus held up his hand angrily. "We will speak of this no more, " Zeus said. "I must go personally to purify this thunderbolt in the waters of Lemnos, to remove the human taint from its metal."**

"And here come the dramatics," muttered Hera.

Hestia smiled tolerantly. "Our brother thinks highly of himself, sister, and that is why he is so dramatic. Plenty of mortals think highly of themselves."

"And I should put them in their place," Zeus mumbled, glaring at his wife.

"As I should do to you," Hera snapped in reply.

**He rose and looked at me. His expression softened just a fraction of a degree.**

"That's still saying something," Thalia informed her cousin.

"Indeed it is," Poseidon said, "because he rarely ever softens his mask."

"I have no mask," Zeus protested sharply. "This is my real face!"

Athena sighed. "I'm surprised we haven't crumbled to ruins yet, Father. Why are you our ruler?"

"**You have done me a service, boy. Few heroes could have accomplished as much."**

"**I had help, sir," I said. "Grover Underwood and Annabeth Chase-"**

Annabeth beamed at her boyfriend. "You mentioned us!" she exclaimed, her eyes wide. "Grover would have fainted by now! Thank you!" She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

"Of course I mentioned you. I would have died without you two," Percy responded truthfully, hugging her back just as tightly.

"Awwwww," cooed Aphrodite.

"Shut up," grumbled Athena.

"**To show you my thanks, I shall spare your life. I do not trust you, Perseus Jackson. **

"At least he won't kill you," Travis said cheerfully.

Percy stared at him.

"There are things worse than death," Annabeth whispered softly, squeezing the other demigod's hand.

"Don't be so insensitive, Travis," Katie snapped at him, and Travis immediately went silent, a sheepish look crossing his face.

Demeter groaned, glaring at Hermes. "Your son better not be in love with my daughter," she grumbled.

**I do not like what your arrival means for the future of Olympus. But for the sake of peace in the family, I shall let you live."**

"Well, isn't that cheerful. Once he doesn't care about the sake of peace in the family, you'll die," Frank said to Percy conversationally.

Percy glared at him.

"**Um... thank you, sir."**

"That's your response?" demanded Zeus in disbelief.

"Well, your little spiel _was_ a little… odd," Apollo told his father.

"Yeah, it was, and this is coming from us," Hermes added, gesturing to himself and his half-brother.

"**Do not presume to fly again. Do not let me find you here when I return. Otherwise you shall taste this bolt. And it shall be your last sensation."**

Hades rolled his eyes. "I believe you would be mobbed for doing such a thing, brother. This boy is quite loved by all around him."

"Except a select few," murmured Athena pointedly.

"Except a select few," repeated Hades in agreement.

"At camp, though, everyone loves Perce. He provides entertainment with his screwing up," Connor teased.

"Hey!"

**Thunder shook the palace. With a blinding flash of lightning, Zeus was gone. **

**I was alone in the throne room with my father. "Your uncle," Poseidon sighed, "has always had a flair for dramatic exits. I think he would've done well as the god of theater."**

"You're lucky I wasn't there," grumbled Zeus, "else I would have killed the boy within the second."

"Oh, you wouldn't have, brother," Poseidon said confidently.

**An uncomfortable silence. **

"The moment of truth," Jason announced dramatically.

Reyna hit him on the shoulder painfully. She dismissed his yelp of 'OW!'. "Let your girlfriend read, dramatic son of Jupiter."

Her statement caused many eyebrows to rise at the praetor's rare show of irritation. Annabeth and Percy alone caught the slight bitter undertone to the praetor's voice as she said the word _girlfriend_. The two shared a glance, but said nothing.

"**Sir," I said, "what was in that pit?"**

**Poseidon regarded me. "Have you not guessed?"**

"**Kronos," I said. "The king of the Titans."**

"Dun, dun, dunnnnnnnn," sang Will lowly.

"Dramatic seems to run in the family," Rachel muttered.

**Even in the throne room of Olympus, far away from Tartarus, the name Kronos darkened the room, made the hearth fire seem not quite so warm on my back.**

Hestia sighed. "Names have power, more power than perhaps necessary."

"Ain't that the truth," murmured Frank.

Hazel looked at him. "Ain't isn't a word, Frank."

"Okay, okay, Miss Levesque," Frank teased.

**Poseidon gripped his trident. "In the First War, Percy, Zeus cut our father Kronos into a thousand pieces, **

Cheers rang out as the throne room was thrust into celebration for a short while.

Jason, catching his girlfriend's impatient look, yelled, "Okay, okay, let's get this book done with!"

"Hey!" Percy shouted, offended.

"Calm down, Seaweed Brain. Your book is entertaining," Annabeth consoled him.

"You were _there_," Percy pointed out.

"True."

**just as Kronos had done to his own father, Ouranos. Zeus cast Kronos's remains into the darkest pit of Tartarus. The Titan army was scattered, their mountain fortress on Etna destroyed, their monstrous allies driven to the farthest corners of the earth. And yet Titans cannot die, any more than we gods can. **

"Which sucks," Apollo remarked bluntly.

"You don't say," his twin sister rebuked sarcastically.

**Whatever is left of Kronos is still alive in some hideous way, still conscious in his eternal pain, still hungering for power."**

"Power," Hestia said, shaking her head. "Always so destructive."

"What's wrong with power?" Zeus demanded, but his sister refused to say for fear of igniting an argument.

"**He's healing," I said. "He's coming back."**

**Poseidon shook his head. "From time to time, over the eons, Kronos has stirred. He enters men's nightmares and breathes evil thoughts. **

Artemis huffed, offended. "Why only men? I'm sure the Titan enters women's dreams as well. Sexist much?"

"Hey! It's natural! I've been living for so long. Up until recently, men have been superior to women."

"And it's absolutely atrocious," Artemis added, scowling.

**He wakens restless monsters from the depths. But to suggest he could rise from the pit is another thing."**

"Just goes to show how ignorant gods can be," murmured Annabeth, so quietly that even Percy had to strain to hear her.

Percy smiled sadly at her, squeezing her hand. "Even your mother?" he teased, attempting to cheer her up.

"Even my mother," Annabeth replied somberly, shooting Percy's attempts down the drain. "No one is perfect, Seaweed Brain, not even a god or goddess."

"Going deep, I see, Wise Girl."

"Always."

"**That's what he intends, Father. That's what he said."**

**Poseidon was silent for a long time.**

"**Lord Zeus has closed discussion on this matter. He will not allow talk of Kronos. You have completed your quest, child. That is all you need to do."**

"Ooh, the blow-off," Hermes observed. "Not a cool way to go, Uncle P, not a cool way to go at all."

"He's got that right," Piper said, setting the book in her lap for easy access. "Blowing your children off won't help you when wartime comes and you need help."

"**But-" I stopped myself. Arguing would do no good. It would very possibly anger the only god who I had on my side. "As... as you wish, Father."**

"Ooh, an obeying Percy! What has the world come to?" Rachel teased.

"Shut it, Dare," grumbled Percy, but there was a smile on his face.

Reyna observed their interaction with a pensive expression. They were much more laidback than the Romans were.

Apparently, Octavian was thinking along a similar line. "How can you joke like this when there are so many pressing matters in the real world?"

Percy looked at him seriously, and without his characteristic sarcasm. "At Camp Half-Blood, we're not just camp-mates. We're a family. And this is how we help each other through tough times. By joking with each other and building a strong support system."

**A faint smile played on his lips. "Obedience does not come naturally to you, does it?"**

"**No... sir."**

"**I must take some blame for that, I suppose. **

Percy laughed, all seriousness evaporated. "Mom would agree," he told his father, who smiled sheepishly.

**The sea does not like to be restrained." He rose to his full height and took up his trident. Then he shimmered and became the size of a regular man, standing directly in front of me. "You must go, child. But first, know that your mother has returned."**

"Yay! Sally has returned!" cheered Thalia.

"Sally?" Jason asked, surprised at his sister's first-name basis with Percy's mother.

"Sally," clarified Annabeth, beaming. Though she had been there, it was still great to hear the news of Sally's return.

"Sally's a cool mom," Nico informed Jason. "She's like all of our second mothers. Except for Perce, of course. He just has the one."

"We've gotten really close, with Percy's disappearance and all," Annabeth added.

Percy winced. He felt bad that it took his disappearing for his friends and mom to become close.

**I stared at him, completely stunned. "My mother?"**

"Momma's boy," Clarisse taunted.

"Punk," her father added.

"Lame," retorted Percy.

"**You will find her at home. Hades sent her when you recovered his helm. Even the Lord of Death pays his debts."**

Hades smiled a bit. "Unfortunately, I have to, or else I'd get punished by my darling little brother. Not that he could do any worse than he's already done."

Hestia smiled sadly at her brother, saying, "Don't worry, brother. Even if Zeus and some of the others aren't your biggest fans, you're always welcome at my hearth."

"Thank you, Hestia," Hades replied sincerely. Persephone smiled slightly. She was happy that her aunt could accept her husband in all his dark glory.

**My heart was pounding. I couldn't believe it. "Do you... would you..."**

"Oh no," murmured Athena, realizing the words Percy couldn't get out.

Poseidon looked sad. "Percy…"

Percy shook his head, effectively cutting his father short. "No, Dad. It was me, the naïve twelve-year-old." He thought he had successfully hidden the sadness in his tone, but several people caught it. Annabeth did, and she grasped his hand reassuringly.

**I wanted to ask if Poseidon would come with me to see her, but then I realized that was ridiculous. I imagined loading the God of the Sea into a taxi and taking him to the Upper East Side. If he'd wanted to see my mom all these years, he would have. And there was Smelly Gabe to think about.**

"Smelly Gabe," snorted Artemis. "The poor woman. She's smart and capable, yet she's imprisoned by the walrus."

Athena nodded in agreement. "I _never_ agree with your decisions, Poseidon, but she was a brilliant choice. She's a great mother. It isn't her fault her son is your spawn. She's a wonderful person. And I'd do some damage to that… that _pig_."

**Poseidon's eyes took on a little sadness. "When you return home, Percy, you must make an important choice. You will find a package waiting in your room."**

"**A package?"**

"A package," Athena breathed. "_That_ package!"

Percy laughed shortly. "Yes. _That_ package."

"**You will understand when you see it. No one can choose your path, Percy. You must decide."**

**I nodded, though I didn't know what he meant. **

"**Your mother is a queen among women," Poseidon said wistfully. **

Hera winced. "You're lucky Amphitrite is not here, brother," she told her brother quietly. "I know I would unleash my rage had Zeus said something likening to that about one of _his_ conquests. And you know the saying: Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

Poseidon glanced at her. "Indeed, sister, indeed."

"**I had not met such a mortal woman in a thousand years. **

"Well, at least you said _mortal_ woman," Hera allowed grudgingly. "That still wouldn't sit well with your wife, but it's better than including _everyone_."

**Still... I am sorry you were born, child. **

"Insensitive as always," sighed Demeter in disappointment. "I'll have to give Amphitrite cereal. Enough cereal to last a human's lifetime. You need it, brother."

"Cereal?" repeated Poseidon in dismay. "I'd rather my palace not be taken over by a trivial thing such as that, thank you, sister."

"Cereal," Demeter said firmly.

**I have brought you a hero's fate, and a hero's fate is never happy. It is never anything but tragic."**

"That doesn't make it any better," Katie commented quietly. "Not better at all."

**I tried not to feel hurt. Here was my own dad, telling me he was sorry I'd been born. "I don't mind, Father."**

"He was right. I didn't yet. But it was pressuring!" Percy exclaimed.

"**Not yet, perhaps," he said. "Not yet. But it was an unforgivable mistake on my part."**

"**I'll leave you then." I bowed awkwardly. "I-I won't bother you again."**

"I squirm with awkwardness just reading about it," Piper said dryly.

"It _was_ awkward," Percy defended himself.

"I never said it wasn't."

**I was five steps away when he called, "Perseus."**

**I turned.**

**There was a different light in his eyes, a fiery kind of pride. "You did well, Perseus. Do not misunderstand me. Whatever else you do, know that you are mine. You are a true son of the Sea God."**

Silence rang for a few moments. Piper had felt the need to pause.

Finally, Demeter broke the contemplative silence by saying, "I'll cut it down to half a human's lifetime. Or even a quarter. You aren't a completely lost case, brother."

"I get tingly thinking about it!" Travis cried excitedly.

"Right…" Percy said, leaning in Reyna's direction as if wanting to get away from the son of Hermes.

Annabeth yanked him back. "Oh, be mature, Seaweed Brain. Travis isn't contagious."

"Thank the gods," muttered Thalia. "We'd all be lost cases by now."

"Hey!"

**As I walked back through the city of the gods, conversations stopped. The muses paused their concert. People and satyrs and naiads all turned toward me, their faces filled with respect and gratitude, and as I passed, they knelt, as if I were some kind of hero. **

"You already are, and you haven't done anything except bring back a bolt?" asked Jason in disbelief. "That's unfair."

Percy rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything.

"Don't be jealous, Jason," Piper chided gently.

"And anyway, I think what Percy did in the coming years validated his hero status quite nicely," Leo added. "GO DEMIGODS!"

"Of course. Leo can't be serious without some silly remark," teased Annabeth.

"You know it, Annie!"

"Don't call me Annie!"

**Fifteen minutes later, still in a trance, I was back on the streets of Manhattan. **

**I caught a taxi to my mom's apartment, rang the doorbell, and there she was -my beautiful mother, smelling of peppermint and licorice, the weariness and worry evaporating from her face as soon as she saw me.**

Clarisse rolled her eyes.

Catching it, Hazel snapped, "Just because you have a cold heart doesn't mean we all do, daughter of Ares."

"Don't call her that," pleaded Frank. "It reminds me that we're half-siblings, if you can cross over the different form thing."

Clarisse just scowled, silently plotting their painful deaths.

"**Percy! Oh, thank goodness. Oh, my baby."**

**She crushed the air right out of me. We stood in the hallway as she cried and ran her hands through my hair.**

**I'll admit it–my eyes were a little misty, too. **

"Prissy," Ares said, apparently unaffected by Hazel's words to his daughter.

"Oh, shut _up_, Ares," Hera snapped, groaning. "You're as bad as your illegitimate daughter."

"I'm not _married_, remember?" Ares shot back.

Aphrodite looked hurt. "Maybe not, but you've forgotten about _me_!"

"Like you're one to talk," Hephaestus jumped in. "_You_ are married, in case you've forgotten, my dear wife."

Aphrodite snorted in an uncharacteristic unladylike manner. "I think the silly, unfashionable boy sitting over there is proof that you're a hypocrite, my _darling_ husband."

"And your late-night escapades and daughter over there hardly allows you to talk, _honey_."

"Okay, okay!" interrupted Piper, annoyed at their flippant ways of addressing their demigod children. "Can I read?"

"Go right ahead, darling," Aphrodite said, turning to smile sweetly at her daughter. When Piper turned to the book, however, she showed another uncharacteristic unladylike action. She flipped her husband off.

"Aphrodite," Zeus hissed, more in disbelief than in a scolding manner.

Piper sighed, annoyed, but continued to read, overriding her mother's response of "Lay off, Zeus".

**I was shaking, I was so relieved to see her.**

**She told me she'd just appeared at the apartment that morning, scaring Gabe half out of his wits.**

"He has wits?" asked Annabeth sarcastically.

"Even if he did, half of his wits must be, like, _miniscule_. One-one trillionth?" suggested Will.

Percy laughed outright. "Probably less. Like one-one quadrillionth."

Annabeth gaped at him. "You know what comes after a trillion?"

"Latin prefix," Percy explained, grinning.

**She didn't remember anything since the Minotaur, and couldn't believe it when Gabe told her I was a wanted criminal, traveling across the country, blowing up national monuments. She'd been going out of her mind with worry all day because she hadn't heard the news. Gabe had forced her to go into work, saying she had a month's salary to make up and she'd better get started.**

Artemis gasped, horrified. "How could he? She just spent time in the freaking _Underworld_! Why doesn't he try enduring the wrath of Hades and then going straight into work?"

"It wouldn't be too hard, Lady Artemis," Thalia replied darkly, "because all he ever does is sit on his a-" She cut herself off at her lady's stern look. "Sit on his _butt_ all day long. Sorry."

**I swallowed back my anger and told her my own story. I tried to make it sound less scary than it had been, but that wasn't easy. I was just getting to the fight with Ares when Gabe's voice interrupted from the living room. "Hey, Sally! That meat loaf done yet or what?"**

"Make it yourself, do-"

"Hazel!" Nico warned before the name, however much it fit the pig, could fully leave his sister's lips.

Hazel smiled sheepishly. "No cussing, then? Sorry."

"It's the old stereotype," groaned Katie. "Women make the sandwiches. It'd be a good day when the roles are reversed."

"True that," her mother agreed.

**She closed her eyes. "He isn't going to be happy to see you, Percy. The store got half a million phone calls today from Los Angeles... something about free appliances."**

"Which was _brilliant_," Connor cheered.

"Thanks, Connor," laughed Percy. He glanced at Annabeth. "See? I'm not only good for getting us in sticky situations."

Annabeth laughed with him, leaning closer to him. "What a surprise," she joked.

"**Oh, yeah. About that..."**

**She managed a weak smile. "Just don't make him angrier, all right? Come on."**

**In the month I'd been gone, the apartment had turned into Gabeland. Garbage was ankle deep on the carpet. The sofa had been reupholstered in beer cans. Dirty socks and underwear hung off the lampshades.**

"That is repulsing," Frank choked.

**Gabe and three of his big goony friends were playing poker at the table.**

"He's going to lose," Dionysus said.

More than a few people turned to look at him.

"You're taking _my_ side?" Percy asked, amazed.

"What are you talking about, Peter Johnson?"

Under his breath, Percy muttered, "_Percy_ _Jackson_."

**When Gabe saw me, his cigar dropped out of his mouth. His face got redder than lava. "You got nerve coming here, you little punk. I thought the police-"**

"**He's not a fugitive after all," my mom interjected. "Isn't that wonderful, Gabe?"**

"Oh, he's just going to love it," Nico chuckled.

Percy winced. He hadn't told anyone the specifics of his homecoming. And Gabe sure did _love_ it.

**Gabe looked back and forth between us. He didn't seem to think my homecoming was so wonderful.**

"**Bad enough I had to give back your life insurance money, Sally," he growled. **

"That greedy pig!" exploded Artemis. "He couldn't survive on his own! He better be happy about Sally! And I don't care about his wellbeing, to be frank. Sally should leave him on the spot!"

Percy agreed heartily, but didn't say anything. He supported his mother in any way possible, despite her choices, and he knew that all she wanted to do was protect him. He loved her for that.

"**Get me the phone. I'll call the cops."**

"**Gabe, no!"**

"Yay! Defiant Sally comes out!" cheered Thalia.

**He raised his eyebrows. "Did you just say **_**'no'**_**? You think I'm gonna put up with this punk again? I can still press charges against him for ruining my Camaro."**

"But he won't," Poseidon said confidently, "or he better not go near _any_ water. Any water all. Not even the toilet. Or a glass of water. Not that he'd _drink_ water, of course, but if he gets within a mile's radius… he's going to be dead within seconds."

Percy looked away. He appreciated his father's concern, but he was more wrapped up in the Sea God's anticipated reaction to the revelation.

"**But-"**

**He raised his hand, and my mother flinched.**

"HE HIT HER?" exploded Poseidon, making the entire throne room shake. "HOW DARE HE HIT HER? HAS HE NO MORALS? WHY IS HE STILL ALIVE?"

"Because, brother," Hestia said in a soft, soothing tone, "you are not allowed to intervene in mortals' lives directly. Calm down, before you submerge the entire country of Japan."

"CALM DOWN? HOW CAN I, WHEN THAT PIG HAS BEEN ABUSING THE MOTHER OF MY CHILD? THAT- THAT INHUMANE PIG!"

Artemis and Athena both rose. They had taken to liking Sally from the moment they read about her. They both admired the strength that the older Jackson seemed to possess, and to top it all off, they could not stand for abusive husbands.

"Father," Artemis said, brimming with suppressed anger and abhorring, "could you bend the rules just this once?" Without waiting for an answer, she disappeared, no doubt after Gabe.

Without another word, Athena also disappeared, leaving a hint of olives behind. Apollo and Hermes gave each other identical, matching smirks and also disappeared, ready to wreak havoc. Poseidon bristled with anger once more, before also disappearing, leaving traces of saltwater behind.

"W-What just happened?" asked Rachel, stunned. Five of the gods' thrones were now empty.

Hestia rose, worry etched in every corner of her kind face. "They'll kill him! No mortal could survive _five_ godly beings' wraths being unleashed _at once!_ Zeus! You idiot! Why didn't you stop them?"

"I have power, but they had rage," Zeus replied quite calmly. It seemed as if they had swapped places. "I could do nothing, sister, surely you see that?"

The others waited in silence as they awaited the return of the five godly beings. Percy's movements never stopped: he fidgeted, he released and grabbed Annabeth's hand multiple times, and thoughts of all kinds raced around in his mind. Hestia and Zeus continued a frenzied discussion under their breaths, while Hera sat stonily, her lips pursed. Dionysus sipped from his Diet Coke. Hephaestus played with an iPhone in his hands. Aphrodite reapplied her makeup. Ares drew out ideal weapons. Persephone sat in her throne, her fingers drawing in the air, making wreaths of flowers appear every once in a while. Hades watched her silently. Demeter half-watched her brother with a hawk's eye and half ate cereal.

The demigods did nothing. They sat in respectful silence, knowing that it was a tense moment.

Finally, after half an hour of the almost unbearable silence, five godly beings reappeared in the throne room. They seemed newly bonded as they exchanged sly smiles and sat down in their thrones.

Percy sat upright, his back stiff. "What happened?" he asked. "How did you find him? What did you _do_?" He had no love for his bygone stepfather, but the news, if he had been beaten up, would reach his mother in time, and it would be terrible having to explain.

"Calm down, son," Poseidon consoled him. He and the other deities had not a scratch on them. Percy could only imagine what Smelly Gabe looked like. When his son glared, Poseidon relented and said, "He's unconscious, but that's all I'm saying."

Artemis smiled. "All _I'm_ saying is that what I did to him makes Hunter training and actual _hunting_ seem like child's play."

Percy glanced quickly at Thalia, who also had a sly smile on her face. No doubt she was cooking up all sorts of ideas.

"Wait!" Aphrodite held up a hand to stop Piper from restarting the story. She closed her eyes, concentrating. After a few moments, she reopened them and grinned. "He won't be happy with his attire when he wakes up." She settled back, a self-satisfied smile spreading across her face. "Read on."

**For the first time, I realized something. Gabe had hit my mother. I didn't know when, or how much. But I was sure he'd done it. Maybe it had been going on for years, when I wasn't around.**

"Feeling guilty?" asked Annabeth sympathetically, leaning into Percy. She felt him nod. "Don't feel guilty. You were busy with getting kicked out of boarding schools."

"Thanks, Wise Girl," Percy replied dryly, laughing. "That makes me feel a whole lot better. I stirred up trouble and caused even _more_ worry on my mom."

Annabeth flinched. Her attempt at joking had backfired hugely.

"Don't feel bad," Percy soothed quietly, squeezing her hand. "I'm sorry. Some long-forgotten memories just came crashing down on me. I shouldn't have taken it out on you."

**A balloon of anger started expanding in my chest. I came toward Gabe, instinctively taking my pen out of my pocket.**

"No!" burst out Reyna.

Everyone, even Octavian, looked at the praetor with surprise. She didn't sound at all like the stoic praetor New Rome knew her to be.

"Is that any way for a praetor to act, Reyna?" asked Octavian, a smug and scolding undertone to his voice.

Reyna pursed her lips, glaring at the augur. "I'm quite sure I know more about how a praetor should act. A considerable amount more than you, Octavian." Her voice was so cold, it shut any of Octavian's retorts down completely. "You know you can't even try, Percy."

"I know," Percy replied, still looking at her, startled.

"Oh, get over it! I'm human too! I just haven't gotten many chances to show it, shouldering a job meant for two and all."

"Sorry," Percy and Jason apologized in unison. They glanced at each other.

Reyna smiled a little. "Don't be. It's okay that you have a lot more excitement and status. A daughter of Bellona is not even close to sons of Jupiter and Neptune." She paused. "Poseidon." She inclined her head at Percy.

**He just laughed. "What, punk? You gonna write on me? You touch me, and you are going to jail forever, you understand?"**

"Like Hades he will," Poseidon growled.

Hades groaned. "Can't you use a different word, brother? As far as I can remember, I've never been in jail, unless you count in our dear father's stomach."

"I do," volunteered Demeter. "Count it, that is."

"It couldn't have been _that_ bad," Zeus interrupted.

His five brothers and sisters glared at him.

"Yeah," Hades said.

"Because," Poseidon added.

"You," Demeter remarked next.

"Weren't," added Hestia.

"In it," finished Hera, looking sick to her stomach just thinking about it.

Zeus gaped at them. "You're like quintuplets. You know, finishing each other's sentences."

"It's fun," Travis defended it, awe in his voice as if he were talking about a priceless piece of art.

"It's not _Picasso_, Travis," Katie sighed.

"I _know_ it isn't Picasso, Katie."

"**Hey, Gabe," his friend Eddie interrupted. "He's just a kid."**

"At least one of these goons has some decency," Hephaestus said. "The others disgust me."

"That's surprising, seeing the grease stains on your clothes day in and day out. I didn't think _anything_ could disgust you," Aphrodite sniped.

"Aphrodite," Zeus warned. "I'm not in the mood to referee a shouting match, okay?"

**Gabe looked at him resentfully and mimicked in a falsetto voice: "**_**Just a kid.**_**"**

**His other friends laughed like idiots. **

"That's because they _are_ idiots," Athena commented.

"_Duh_," finished Hermes.

"I wasn't going to say duh," Athena snapped at him.

"I know. That's why _I_ said it. Duh!"

"**I'll be nice to you, punk." Gabe showed me his tobacco-stained teeth. "I'll give you five minutes to get your stuff and clear out. After that, I call the police."**

"No you won't," Hera responded, "or I'll unleash my worst on you. The boy didn't do anything to deserve it."

Annabeth snorted. "Cows. They _are_ quite annoying."

"And what did we do to deserve our treatment?" Thalia asked her stepmother, a waiting brow arched.

Hera gave no response.

"**Gabe!" my mother pleaded. **

"**He ran away," Gabe told her. "Let him stay gone."**

"No, why don't _you_ stay gone?" asked Apollo darkly. "Because we can do a lot worse, can't we?"

"Yes," Poseidon said, overriding Hestia's fierce _no_. "We could force him to watch us reveal our true godly forms."

"And then I'll streamline him straight into Tartarus," Hades added.

Annabeth smiled at Percy. "They're coming together," she whispered.

**I was itching to uncap Riptide, but even if I did, the blade wouldn't hurt humans. And Gabe, by the loosest definition, was human. **

"Looser than a loose screw," Leo agreed. "Or a loose doorknob."

"Wouldn't a loose doorknob be a result of a loose screw?" asked Jason.

Leo contemplated this for a moment. "Yeah, dude, I guess so. So looser than a loose screw. Because like the screw, Smelly Gabe causes a domino effect." He burst out laughing. When he finally recovered himself, he panted, "I crack myself up!"

"At least there's _someone_ you can crack up, repair boy," Piper taunted.

"One more than you can, beauty queen," shot back Leo.

**My mother took my arm. "Please, Percy. Come on. We'll go to your room."**

**I let her pull me away, my hands still trembling with rage. **

**My room had been completely filled with Gabe's junk. There were stacks of used car batteries, a rotting bouquet of sympathy flowers with a card from somebody who'd seen his Barbara Walters interview.**

"You should throw them out the window," Frank advised the Percy in the book.

"He doesn't deserve sympathy flowers, or any kind of sympathy or flowers," Hazel agreed.

"**Gabe is just upset, honey," my mother told me. "I'll talk to him later. I'm sure it will work out."**

"It will never work out," Percy said, knowing what he was going to say.

"Not as long as Gabe's there," Annabeth added.

Percy grinned. Great minds think alike, he thought.

"**Mom, it'll never work out. Not as long as Gabe's here."**

Annabeth started, and then a small smile worked its way across her lips. "Either your mind is brighter than anyone could have guessed, or I'm dumbing myself down," she teased.

**She wrung her hands nervously. "I can... I'll take you to work with me for the rest of the summer. In the fall, maybe there's another boarding school-"**

Demeter smiled sadly. "She's trying. It's killing her, but she's trying." She didn't even attempt to put something about cereal in there. Admiration coated her words.

"She's very admirable," Artemis added, saying what Demeter had implied.

"Very," agreed Athena firmly.

"**Mom."**

**She lowered her eyes. "I'm trying, Percy. I just... I need some time."**

**A package appeared on my bed. At least, I could've sworn it hadn't been there a moment before.**

"Ah, magic," joked Hermes, trying to lift the mood a little.

A few tense laughs was all he got.

**It was a battered cardboard box about the right size to fit a basketball. The address on the mailing slip was in my own handwriting:**

**The Gods**

**Mount Olympus**

**600th Floor,**

**Empire State Building**

**New York, NY**

**With best wishes,**

**PERCY JACKSON**

**Over the top in black marker, in a man's clear, bold print, was the address of our apartment, and the words: RETURN TO SENDER.**

Realization dawned on everyone.

"Gabe's going to turn into a statue!" cheered Leo, getting up and doing a jig.

"Never again, Leo," Piper said, looking nauseated. "That's just disturbing. Never do a jig again."

"No profit will come, though, unfortunately," put in Connor. "No one will buy him, he's so ugly. So he's even more useless."

**Suddenly I understood what Poseidon had told me on Olympus. **

**A package. A decision.**

_**Whatever else you do, know that you are mine. You are a true son of the Sea God.**_

"I just realized how possessive that sounds," Hades remarked.

Poseidon rolled his eyes. "Like you'd never say that to _your_ kids."

"I only have two," Hades snapped in return, "that are alive, in case you've forgotten. You've got Jackson and those Cyclops. And more." He flickered to Pluto momentarily, his eyes on Hazel, and then flickered back, looking at Nico.

**I looked at my mother. "Mom, do you want Gabe gone?"**

"**Percy, it isn't that simple. I-"**

"It _can_ be simple," cackled Thalia, letting loose an evil laugh. "_Very_ simple, and relatively painless, unfortunately, but simple."

"**Mom, just tell me. That jerk has been hitting you. Do you want him gone or not?"**

**She hesitated, then nodded almost imperceptibly. "Yes, Percy. I do. And I'm trying to get up my courage to tell him. But you can't do this for me. You can't solve my problems."**

"He can," insisted Nico. "Come on, Sally, just agree!"

"Knowing what Percy's gotten himself into, that probably isn't the best path," Hera chastised Nico.

**I looked at the box.**

**I could solve her problem. I wanted to slice that package open, plop it on the poker table, and take out what was inside. I could start my very own statue garden, right there in the living room.**

"The only bad thing is, you'd have to lug them all out," commented Will, looking pensive.

"Yeah, too much work," Percy agreed, playing along.

**That's what a Greek hero would do in the stories, I thought. That's what Gabe deserves.**

A warm, happy smile appeared on Hestia's lips. "And just by hesitating, son of Poseidon, you are so much better than all those before you."

Percy flushed a little at the high praise. "Thank you, Lady Hestia."

"I speak the truth," Hestia replied kindly, smiling at him.

**But a hero's story always ended in tragedy. Poseidon had told me that.**

"Maybe you aren't so stupid after all," Athena mused quietly, gazing at Percy as if seeing him for the first time.

**I remembered the Underworld. I thought about Gabe's spirit drifting forever in the Fields of Asphodel, **

"Are you kidding?" demanded Hades. "I'm not a fool! Even if he wasn't _your_ stepfather, child, I'd still condemn him to the Fields of Punishment. Okay, maybe not, but now, most definitely."

**or condemned to some hideous torture behind the barbed wire of the Fields of Punishment–an eternal poker game, sitting up to his waist in boiling oil listening to opera music. **

"And obviously condemn him to something _much_ worse," Persephone added to her husband's tirade. "If he didn't, I'd pull the 'Queen of the Underworld' card and do it myself."

**Did I have the right to send someone there? Even Gabe?**

**A month ago, I wouldn't have hesitated. Now...**

Annabeth smiled.

"You have _some_ morals, it seems, Percy," Reyna remarked, her eyes laughing.

"And you have some human in you, it seems, Reyna," returned Percy, laughing outright.

Reyna just rolled her eyes.

"**I can do it," I told my mom. "One look inside this box, and he'll never bother you again."**

**She glanced at the package, and seemed to understand immediately. **

"Of course she would. Sally's a very smart woman," Annabeth said, not bothering to hide the admiration in her voice. "Maybe smart enough to be mistaken for a daughter of yours, Mother."

Athena was silent, her face thoughtful. She wouldn't have minded having Sally for a child, but that would mean the sea spawn would be her grandchild. That would complicate things even further than relations had already been complicated.

"**No, Percy," she said, stepping away. "You can't."**

"**Poseidon called you a queen," I told her. "He said he hadn't met a woman like you in a thousand years."**

Poseidon smiled, and Aphrodite felt the waves of love coursing off him once more.

"I did not lie," Poseidon confirmed.

**Her cheeks flushed. "Percy-"**

"**You deserve better than this, Mom. You should go to college, get your degree. **

Athena beamed. "Indeed she should! And I'll give her my blessing several times over."

Percy smiled at her gratefully, though the Wisdom Goddess was too wrapped up in the story to notice.

Annabeth squeezed his hand, acknowledging the gratefulness in place of her mother temporarily.

**You can write your novel, meet a nice guy maybe, live in a nice house. You don't need to protect me anymore by staying with Gabe. Let me get rid of him."**

Poseidon smiled sadly, recognizing the tone and intentions in his son.

**She wiped a tear off her cheek. "You sound so much like your father," she said. **

The Sea God nodded. Her statement had confirmed his suspicions.

Percy snuck a glance at his father, interested to see his reaction.

"**He offered to stop the tide for me once. He offered to build me a palace at the bottom of the sea. **

Zeus looked dismayed. "Did you really, brother? You do know how many ancient laws you broke just by offering, yes?"

Poseidon was silent for a moment. Finally, he spoke. "You've never been truly in love, have you, Zeus? Because if you have, you would understand. No matter how many ancient laws I broke, even by offering only, I didn't care. Love is blind, and you are blinded by love."

Hera flinched, as if someone had physically slapped her. Her brother had just reminded her that Zeus didn't truly love her.

Poseidon, realizing, glanced at her, giving her reassurance and apology silently.

She simply nodded once in acceptance, looking away so that no one could see the slight hint of tears threatening to fall.

**He thought he could solve all my problems with a wave of his hand."**

"**What's wrong with that?"**

"Independence," Artemis answered quietly.

"Independence," Percy confirmed.

"And you're like her," Annabeth told her boyfriend, "so you should have understood."

Percy smiled. "She said just that, Wise Girl, she said just that."

**Her multicolored eyes seemed to search inside me. "I think you know, Percy. I think you're enough like me to understand. If my life is going to mean anything, I have to live it myself. I can't let a god take care of me... or my son. **

"Our son," Poseidon corrected the woman softly and half-heartedly. He knew that Percy qualified only as his son biologically, at that point in time, anyway.

**I have to... find the courage on my own. Your quest has reminded me of that."**

**We listened to the sound of poker chips and swearing, ESPN from the living room television.**

"That sounds like a _wonderful_ environment to grow up in," Dionysus said in disgust. "I like to gamble and drink and party and all, but in an apartment where a female and child are present?"

"Wow, you have morals, Mr. B," Percy replied.

"Mr. _D_," Dionysus corrected impatiently. "Don't you have any memory space?"

"I'm not a computer, number one, and number two, you get our names wrong all the time," Percy pointed out.

"**I'll leave the box," I said. "If he threatens you..."**

**She looked pale, but she nodded. "Where will you go, Percy?"**

"**Half-Blood Hill."**

"**For the summer... or forever?"**

"**I guess that depends."**

The goddesses looked startled and slightly angry. Percy braced himself.

"You can't leave her!" Demeter exploded.

"You're her only child!" added Artemis.

"You're the person she would do anything for, and you're _deserting_ her?" demanded Athena.

"Losing a child is the worst thing a mother could feel, Percy," Hera scolded quietly. She barely registered her two sons' snorts.

"Be wise, boy," Hestia said simply.

"You'll cause worry lines and bags under her eyes!" accused Aphrodite.

"He hasn't made it definite yet!" Annabeth cried, interrupting their accusations. "Leave him alone! Piper, you can read."

"Almost done," Piper said, before obliging.

**We locked eyes, and I sensed that we had an agreement. We would see how things stood at the end of the summer.**

"See?" asked Annabeth.

"We jump to conclusions a lot," Hestia replied sheepishly.

Athena, of course, was too proud to agree. "No, Lady Hestia. He's a teenage boy, a terrible combination! Who knows what he might have done, stupidly or otherwise?"

**She kissed my forehead. "You'll be a hero, Percy. You'll be the greatest of all."**

"She should be the Oracle," joked Rachel. "She could take my spot without even having to be possessed by the spirit."

**I took one last look around my bedroom. I had a feeling I'd never see it again. Then I walked with my mother to the front door.**

"**Leaving so soon, punk?" Gabe called after me. "Good riddance."**

"No. Good riddance doesn't fit this circumstance," Travis protested.

Connor nodded in agreement. "Good riddance only fits the circumstance in which Smelly Gabe becomes stone."

**I had one last twinge of doubt. How could I turn down the perfect chance to take revenge on him? I was leaving here without saving my mother.**

"She's more than capable, Percy," Poseidon assured his son.

"I realized that," nodded Percy.

"**Hey, Sally," he yelled. "What about that meat loaf, huh?"**

"Make it yourself!" yelled Hermes.

"Wow, who knew you supported feminism?" asked Artemis sarcastically.

"There's a lot of things you don't know about me, darling Artie."

"Don't call me darling _or_ Artie!"

**A steely look of anger flared in my mother's eyes, and I thought, just maybe, I was leaving her in good hands after all. Her own.**

"Capable hands," agreed Annabeth. "More than capable, in fact." She inclined her head to acknowledge that Poseidon had also said as such.

"**The meat loaf is coming right up, dear," she told Gabe. "Meat loaf surprise."**

"Ooh, she should put some poisonous plants in there!" Katie suggested, and began to reel off all sorts of such plants.

Demeter looked at her daughter with fiery pride as Piper cut the girl off with the last couple of paragraphs.

**She looked at me, and winked.**

**The last thing I saw as the door swung closed was my mother staring at Gabe, as if she were contemplating how he would look as a garden statue. **

"It'd be a step up," Hephaestus commented, "because he wouldn't be able to talk."

Hermes offered, "I'll read next." He caught the book Piper threw at him. "Last chapter! Wow, we read fast!"

"Surprising," teased Apollo. "Don't mess it up now, Hermes!"

x.o.x.o.x.

A/N: I know today (the day I updated) is NOT February eighth. In fact, it's thirteen days later. Almost two weeks. I'm sorry! I really am! And I'm sorry about that teaser/author's note last 'chapter'. Didn't mean to get your hopes up. I hope you enjoyed that chapter! I'm thinking of splitting the next one in half, what do you think? I was flipping through it in my paper copy, and it seemed pretty long. Until next time!


	27. The Prophecy Comes True

A/N: *tear, tear* It's the last chapter! I'm SO SORRY it was sooooo late! Please forgive me! And it took nine months! Wow! I'll let you know now: I'm definitely planning on doing _Sea of Monsters_. I'm not sure when the first chapter of THAT will be up, so put me on author alert, or review this story and tell me to PM you once it's up. Or, of course, you could just check daily, but I really wouldn't recommend that, knowing my updating habits. *looks away* So enjoy this last chapter, and thank you to EVERYONE who reviewed! I would list, but that would take up way too much room. Do you think, one day, I could get to a thousand? That would be incredible! So here you are, and wish me luck!

x.o.x.o.x.

**The Prophecy Comes True,** read Hermes, and laughed. He made thriller-movie noises.

Apollo chuckled and joined in.

Percy observed the half-brothers silently. He felt terrible about how Hermes would feel by the end of the chapter – and, ultimately, the book.

**We were the first heroes to return alive to Half-Blood Hill since Luke, so of course everybody treated us as if we'd won some reality-TV contest. **

Rachel made a face. "Considering some of the actual reality-TV contest winners, you _don't_ want to be treated like one."

"Like who?" asked Hazel.

Rachel listed a few names, and Hazel looked at her blankly. "You don't know them? Oh, that's it. We're going to have a _TV_ marathon, not just movies, when we're done with this."

"Don't watch the movie they made from this book," warned Annabeth.

Everyone looked at her in surprise.

"They made a movie?" Percy asked stupidly.

"Yes, Seaweed Brain, they made a movie," Annabeth responded. "It's terrible, though; they got all sorts of things wrong. We weren't searching for Persephone's pearls! That definitely wasn't the quest! Poseidon gave them to us, and they weren't even _Persephone's_! And they completely left out the Arch! Plus, the girl they cast as me is, like, twenty-six and a brunette!"

"Other than that, though, you have to admit she played a pretty good Annabeth," Thalia argued.

Annabeth shrugged. "Maybe."

"I'm going to watch this movie," muttered Percy.

"Did I have a big role?" asked Persephone hopefully.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "You were a… to put it nicely, creep. You basically sexually assaulted Grover."

"The poor satyr," sympathized Persephone, looking angry. "I can't believe they portrayed me that way! Father!"

"What is it?" questioned Zeus sharply.

"Could you zap whatever director made that movie? It's unfair."

"Zapping people for the fun of it is petty, Sephie," Demeter scolded, glaring at her brother, who seemed to be seriously considering it.

"The director is Chris Columbus," offered Annabeth helpfully.

**According to camp tradition, we wore laurel wreaths to a big feast prepared in our honor, then led a procession down to the bonfire, where we got to burn the burial shrouds our cabins had made for us in our absence.**

**Annabeth's shroud was so beautiful–gray silk with embroidered owls–I told her it seemed a shame not to bury her in it. **

Athena gasped indignantly. "Are you implying that you wish my daughter had died?"

Normally, Percy would have made a smart-aleck response, but he said seriously, "Certainly not, Lady Athena. In fact, there is nothing in the world I fear more than your daughter's death. It was merely a joke, and I was twelve years old."

Annabeth gaped at him. "Were you just _serious_?"

Percy punched her and told her to shut up. No, just kidding. He just grinned.

**She punched me and told me to shut up.**

**Being the son of Poseidon, I didn't have any cabin mates, **

Poseidon looked torn. "Sorry, son."

Percy just shrugged. "Don't be, Dad. Lady Amphitrite would probably be even angrier if you had more than one illegitimate child. And plus, it would be _double-_breaking the oath. Look at Zeus. Were you or Hades overly happy about him having two children, even if one was Roman?"

Hades chuckled. "The boy's got a point, brother."

**so the Ares cabin had volunteered to make my shroud. **

"Now I'm _really_ sorry," Poseidon told his son, amusement underlining his words.

It took the God of War and his daughter a few moments to register the thinly veiled insult.

"Hey!" father and daughter exclaimed angrily together, glaring at the Sea God.

**They'd taken an old bedsheet and painted smiley faces with X'ed-out eyes around the border, and the word LOSER painted really big in the middle.**

**It was fun to burn.**

Percy nodded in agreement with his past self. "Fun to burn, it really was." He looked thoughtfully at Clarisse. "You should have made it good, Clarisse. Then maybe I would have been sorry to see it go."

Clarisse rolled her eyes. "Keep yapping, Prissy."

"Percy," the son of the Sea God muttered under his breath, out of habit more than anything.

**As Apollo's cabin led the sing-along and passed out s'mores, I was surrounded by my old Hermes cabinmates, **

"We missed you," Travis said conversationally. "You were easy to trick, being new meat and all."

"Until you got deadly. Then you were scary," Connor added, shuddering at the memory. "I mean, you could snap our heads off like you did to the Minotaur's horn!"

Percy paused. A comeback had been poised at the tip of his tongue, but Connor's comments made him stop. "Um, Connor? I snapped the horn off _before_ I got to camp…"

"Oh. Right."

"Idiot," murmured Katie.

"But you _love_ us!" sang Travis.

"Whatever you need to _sing_ to yourself before you go to sleep, Travis."

**Annabeth's friends from Athena, and Grover's satyr buddies, who were admiring the brand-new searcher's license he'd received from the Council of Cloven Elders.**

A short celebration ensued, with many congratulations to Grover.

Zeus grumbled, "I'm surprised they would endure my wrath just for a shiny license. They know I disapprove of that satyr."

Thalia rolled her eyes at her father. "Dad, in case you're blind, I'm _sitting right here_, not six feet under."

**The council had called Grover's performance on the quest "Brave to the point of indigestion. Horns-and-whiskers above anything we have seen in the past."**

Silence. Hermes stopped reading. Then he burst out laughing. "To the point of indigestion? Horns-and-whiskers above?"

"That's _priceless_," chuckled Apollo.

"Their phrasing is in need of some work," mumbled Athena.

"Just _some_," Artemis said sarcastically.

**The only ones not in a party mood were Clarisse and her cabinmates, whose poisonous looks told me they'd never forgive me for disgracing their dad.**

"And I'll never _let_ them," Ares growled.

"Like we ever would, permitted or not," muttered Clarisse. "We're not _stupid_, Dad."

"Aw, did you provoke a family spat, Percy?" asked Leo patronizingly.

"I'm sure I did," sighed Percy, feigning remorse and playing along.

**That was okay with me.**

**Even Dionysus's welcome-home speech wasn't enough to dampen my spirits. "Yes, yes, so the little brat didn't get himself killed and now he'll have an even bigger head. **

Demeter raised her eyebrows. "You sound awfully cheerful, Dionysus. You didn't have your daily dose of cereal, did you?" She looked disapproving. "I specifically send you a year's supply every year! What do you do with it?"

"Dump it in the trash, overbearing aunt," mumbled Dionysus, gulping his Diet Coke to stop an onslaught of insults, knowing it would gain him no sympathy from his father, right as he may be.

**Well, huzzah for that. In other announcements, there will be no canoe races this Saturday..."**

**I moved back into cabin three, but it didn't feel so lonely anymore. I had my friends to train with during the day. **

Annabeth beamed. "Good!"

"But you'll probably tire of us soon," joked Travis.

"Who says I haven't already?" teased Percy in return.

**At night, I lay awake and listened to the sea, knowing my father was out there. Maybe he wasn't quite sure about me yet, maybe he hadn't even wanted me born, but he was watching. And so far, he was proud of what I'd done.**

Poseidon remained in a thoughtful silence, but when he opened his mouth to reassure his son, Percy cut him off before he could even begin.

"Don't worry, Dad. I know you just said it in the heat of the moment, and you love me, and all that. Showing is much more effective than telling, and your showing has worked," Percy assured him, looking vaguely uncomfortable.

**As for my mother, she had a chance at a new life. Her letter arrived a week after I got back to camp. She told me Gabe had left mysteriously–disappeared off the face of the planet, in fact. **

Silence, then laughter.

"I can't believe it!" cried Thalia.

"She actually statued Gabe!" laughed Hazel, making up a word on the spot.

"Oh, that's priceless," exclaimed Artemis.

**She'd reported him missing to the police, but she had a funny feeling they would never find him.**

Poseidon chuckled, and Aphrodite felt a wave of fondness coming off of the Sea God in bursts. "Her funny feelings seem to always come out right," he joked.

**On a completely unrelated subject, she'd sold her first life-size concrete sculpture, entitled **_**The Poker Player**_**, to a collector, through an art gallery in Soho. **

More laughter.

"Completely unrelated subject my arse!" yelled Nico, rolling on the floor and grasping his stomach.

"Did you just use a British term?" asked Thalia, wide-eyed.

"Oh, be quiet."

**She'd gotten so much money for it, she'd put a deposit down on a new apartment and made a payment on her first semester's tuition at NYU. **

Hephaestus raised his bushy eyebrows. "So the pig wasn't completely useless after all."

**The Soho gallery was clamoring for more of her work, which they called "a huge step forward in super-ugly neorealism."**

"Of course they did," Rachel commented, looking directly and pointedly at Percy.

The demigod shrugged. "What? I swear they did!"

Athena smiled happily, ignoring the Oracle and demigod. "I'm happy that Sally is able to get an education! That pig was a roadblock in Sally's highway of life in more ways than one."

"Nice metaphor, Mom," Annabeth complimented.

"Thanks."

_**But don't worry,**_** my mom wrote. **_**I'm done with sculpture. I've disposed of that box of tools you left me. It's time for me to turn to writing.**_

Percy grinned. "Her code was pretty good."

**At the bottom, she wrote a P.S.: **_**Percy, I've found a good private school here in the city. I've put a deposit down to hold you a spot, in case you want to enroll for seventh grade. You could live at home. But if you want to go year-round at Half-Blood Hill, I'll understand.**_

"She knows the significance of your other life," remarked Hestia. "That's invaluable, Percy."

"I know," murmured Percy.

Annabeth flinched slightly, and knowing the thoughts running through her mind, Percy clasped her hand in his, giving her an assuring smile.

**I folded the note carefully and set it on my bedside table. Every night before I went to sleep, I read it again, and I tried to decide how to answer her.**

"Momma's boy," insulted Clarisse.

Percy rolled his eyes.

"That's getting a tiny bit old, Clarisse," snapped Annabeth, emphasizing the _tiny_.

Percy chuckled, kissing Annabeth sweetly on the cheek. "Just my thoughts."

Clarisse mimed puking.

"Grow up," Thalia sniped.

**On the Fourth of July, the whole camp gathered at the beach for a fireworks display by cabin nine. Being Hephaestus's kids, they weren't going to settle for a few lame red-white-and-blue explosions. **

"Nope, that would be a _huge_ disgrace," Leo agreed, shuddering at the very thought.

Hephaestus nodded. "Just a bit," he commented gruffly.

**They'd anchored a barge offshore and loaded it with rockets the size of Patriot missiles. According to Annabeth, who'd seen the show before, the blasts would be sequenced so tightly they'd look like frames of animation across the sky. The finale was supposed to be a couple of hundred-foot-tall Spartan ****warriors who would crackle to life above the ocean, fight a battle, then explode into a million colors.**

"Amazing," breathed Rachel. "I never get tired of it. I wish the mortal world had firework shows like the ones at camp!"

**As Annabeth and I were spreading a picnic blanket, Grover showed up to tell us good-bye. **

"Good luck, Grover," murmured Hestia.

Hera looked pensive. "Satyrs on the search for Pan don't come back."

"Shows how much you know," muttered Percy, careful for only Annabeth and Reyna to hear him, as they were closest.

Reyna gave him a sharp glance. "Don't speak ill of the queen, Percy, do you have a death wish?" she hissed in Latin.

Percy rolled his eyes. "I've never gotten in trouble for it before," he responded, also in halting Latin.

{A/N: I'm not sure if they actually speak Latin, but hey! I'll take full advantage of the word _**FAN**_FICTION.}

**He was dressed in his usual jeans and T-shirt and sneakers, but in the last few weeks he'd started to look older, almost high-school age. His goatee had gotten thicker. He'd put on weight. His horns had grown at least an inch, so he now had to wear his rasta cap all the time to pass as human.**

"**I'm off," he said. "I just came to say... well, you know."**

**I tried to feel happy for him. **

"It must hurt to think that he would never come back," Hazel said quietly, smiling at her praetor and friend.

Percy nodded, as did Annabeth and the other demigods.

**After all, it wasn't every day a satyr got permission to go look for the great god Pan. But it was hard saying good-bye. I'd only known Grover a year, yet he was my oldest friend.**

"That's horrible," murmured Demeter. "Your oldest friend has only been your friend for a year."

"Well, to you, it _is_ kind of like an hour or fifteen minutes, a year is, isn't it, Mother?" asked Katie sincerely, no trace of sarcasm evident.

**Annabeth gave him a hug. She told him to keep his fake feet on.**

**I asked him where he was going to search first.**

"**Kind of a secret," he said, looking embarrassed. "I wish you could come with me, guys, but humans and Pan…"**

"**We understand," Annabeth said. "You got enough tin cans for the trip?"**

Connor snorted softly. "Anyone just listening in on this conversation with no background knowledge would probably call the authorities and have you landed in an asylum."

Annabeth stared at him for a minute. "Well, isn't that cheerful?" she finally asked, raising an eyebrow.

"**Yeah."**

"**And you remembered your reed pipes?"**

"**Jeez, Annabeth," he grumbled. "You're like an old mama goat."**

"He's right," remarked Athena. She shot a sharp glance at her daughter. "Are you sure you were just born with maternal instincts and there isn't anything you need to tell us?"

"_Mother_!" exclaimed Annabeth, her face turning bright red.

Apollo looked at his half-sister in shock. "Did you just _crack_ a _joke_? Or use _sarcasm_?"

"I am capable of it, yes," Athena responded, rolling her eyes.

**But he didn't really sound annoyed.**

**He gripped his walking stick and slung a backpack over his shoulder. He looked like any hitchhiker you might see on an American highway–nothing like the little runty boy I used to defend from bullies at Yancy Academy.**

"It's amazing how fast things can change," commented Will, looking thoughtful.

"Time does fly," agreed Piper.

"**Well," he said, "wish me luck."**

**He gave Annabeth another hug. He clapped me on the shoulder, then headed back through the dunes. **

"Dun, dun, _dundundun_," sang Leo lowly.

"You're making it worse, dude," Jason bit off tersely.

Leo raised his eyebrows, but said nothing.

**Fireworks exploded to life overhead: Hercules killing the Nemean lion, Artemis chasing the boar, **

Artemis beamed. "That was a good time."

"We couldn't tell," Apollo murmured.

"Oh, be quiet."

**George Washington (who, by the way, was a son of Athena) crossing the Delaware.**

"Yes he was," Athena said proudly.

Percy sat upright, an awed look on his face. "That means that you" – he pointed to Annabeth – "are George Washington's _half-sister_! You're related to the first president!"

Annabeth laughed. "Yes I am. Would you like my autograph?"

"**Hey, Grover," I called.**

**He turned at the edge of the woods.**

"**Wherever you're going–I hope they make good enchiladas."**

"That's what you say?" demanded Aphrodite, amazed.

Everyone looked at her, wondering if she really was going to say something wise.

"I'd say, _I hope they have cute girls_!"

"Of course you would," mumbled Hephaestus.

**Grover grinned, and then he was gone, the trees closing around him. **

"**We'll see him again," Annabeth said. **

**I tried to believe it. The fact that no searcher had ever come back in two thousand years... well, I decided not to think about that. Grover would be the first. He had to be.**

"At least he doesn't have your luck," teased Frank.

Percy chuckled. "Luckily."

"That was terrible," groaned Nico.

"Like you," Thalia retorted lightly, laughing to ensure that she was joking.

"Hey!"

**July passed.**

**I spent my days devising new strategies for capture-the-flag and making alliances with the other cabins to keep the banner out of Ares's hands. **

Ares scowled, glancing at his daughter. "You better keep it out of the punk's hands, Clarisse."

Clarisse winced at the crystal clear threat.

"Children of Ares _never_ fail."

"Oh, Ares, stop terrifying the girl," chastised Aphrodite, giving Clarisse a disinterested look. "It's only fun in the beginning. And anyway, _everyone_ fails."

"Did you just spout some _wisdom_?" demanded Apollo. "Now _that's_ a new one."

**I got to the top of the climbing wall for the first time without getting scorched by lava.**

"Woooo! Go Percy!" yelled Connor.

Percy stared at him for a moment. "I can't figure out if that was sarcasm or not."

**From time to time, I'd walk past the Big House, glance up at the attic windows, and think about the Oracle. I tried to convince myself that its prophecy had come to completion.**

_**You shall go west, and face the god who has turned.**_

**Been there, done that–even though the traitor god had turned out to be Ares rather than Hades.**

"But _no one_ believed me." Hades raised his eyebrows, surveying his family and the demigods.

"Yeah, yeah, we were wrong, you were right. Stop rubbing it in," grumbled Poseidon.

Hades frowned. "I was kind of hoping for Zeus to say that, actually. It's not every day he admits to being wrong. I guess you'll have to do."

"Thanks?"

_**You shall find what was stolen, and see it safe returned.**_

**Check. One master bolt delivered. One helm of darkness back on Hades's oily head.**

"HEY!"

Persephone laughed. "Your head _is_ kind of oily, my lord."

"I'll lend you some of my extra-special shampoo," offered Hermes, smiling widely. "It really works."

Hades regarded him warily. "No thank you, Hermes. Knowing you and your reputation, you'll probably put something in it to turn my hair bright blue or something."

_**You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend.**_

**This line still bothered me. Ares had pretended to be my friend, then betrayed me. That must be what the Oracle meant...**

"If you're not sure, than it most likely _isn't_ what the Oracle meant," Athena said wisely.

"Thank the gods you aren't as cryptic in real life," Will told Rachel.

"Yeah, we'd have a terrible time trying to figure out your every word!" laughed Katie.

_**And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end. **_

**I had failed to save my mom, but only because I'd let her save herself, and I knew that was the right thing.**

**So why was I still uneasy?**

Percy winced, glancing at Hermes, who was still reading, oblivious to what was to come. Maybe he should have insisted that someone else read this chapter…

**The last night of the summer session came all too quickly.**

**The campers had one last meal together. We burned part of our dinner for the gods. At the bonfire, the senior counselors awarded the end-of-summer beads.**

"That's always lots of fun!" remarked Annabeth. "Did it get your mind off of the prophecy for a bit?"

Percy nodded, grinning at her. "Especially when I saw the bead."

Annabeth's grey eyes widened in realization, glancing down at the leather necklace around her neck. She searched for the bead, and located it, gripping it tightly. "It's one of my favorites now," she informed Percy, who kissed her hand sweetly.

"I'm glad."

**I got my own leather necklace, and when I saw the bead for my first summer, I was glad the firelight covered my blushing. **

"Aw, how _sweet_," Clarisse taunted.

"Just as sweet as when you got drenched in filthy water, Clarisse," Annabeth shot back, smiling _sweetly_.

"Oh, shut up, Princess."

Annabeth rolled her eyes, but she didn't retort.

**The design was pitch black, with a sea-green trident shimmering in the center.**

Poseidon raised his eyebrows. "You?" he asked his son.

Percy laughed. "As arrogant as it sounds, yup."

"**The choice was unanimous," Luke announced. "This bead commemorates the first Son of the Sea God at this camp, and the quest he undertook into the darkest part of the Underworld to stop a war!"**

Annabeth frowned, a bit teary-eyed as she listened to Luke, his act still going strong. Had nearly every word he said to her in those years been a lie?

Percy, sensing her thoughts, clasped her hand in his. "It's okay, Wise Girl. He made a mistake, but in the end, he was a hero."

"Yeah…" Annabeth nodded slightly, but Thalia frowned in their direction.

The daughter of Zeus almost opened her mouth to contradict Percy's claim and Annabeth's acceptance, but a short glance from Nico stopped her. There was peace, and it would be bad for Hermes to have to deal with the news of his favorite son's betrayal with tensions running high.

**The entire camp got to their feet and cheered. Even Ares's cabin felt obliged to stand. **

Ares scowled, but said nothing.

"That's sweet," commented Hestia, smiling.

Hera nodded. "They seem to be temporarily putting aside their differences. It's nice to see. After all, family is important, and even if we don't have any DNA, they are related, by blood or not. Their adventures are too trying to go through alone, and they have each other to lean on."

Surprisingly, Annabeth paid attention during Hera's short spiel, and she leaned heavily on Percy, thoughts of Luke plaguing her mind once again. Thalia, sensing the tense muscles of her friend, reached over and rubbed her back reassuringly. No one questioned their actions, passing it off as friendly reassurance. But the older Greek demigods knew why Annabeth was having a rare show of emotions.

Reyna frowned, watching the trio, two comforting and one being comforted. Her mind, always sharp and ready, dissected what had happened before and could happen in the coming chapter, trying to figure out what caused the warrior to break down slightly.

**Athena's cabin steered Annabeth to the front so she could share in the applause.**

Annabeth lifted her head slightly, smiling sadly. "I felt guilty, but I can't deny that it felt good. I'd spent so much time preparing for something I thought would never come, and now, it seems I've become popular."

"You always were," Connor informed her. "You were too serious at times, but you've been there since you were seven. That's quite a feat."

"Thanks." Annabeth lowered her head onto Percy's shoulders again, bracing herself for the bomb-dropping.

Hermes continued, also wondering why Annabeth was so emotionally weak all of a sudden, but he didn't inquire on it.

**I'm not sure I'd ever felt as happy or sad as I did at that moment. I'd finally found a family, people who cared about me and thought I'd done something right. And in the morning, most of them would be leaving for the year. **

"That's optimistic," remarked Will, chuckling.

Percy shrugged. "What can I say, man? I'm an optimistic guy."

**The next morning, I found a form letter on my bedside table.**

**I knew Dionysus must've filled it out, because he stubbornly insisted on getting my name wrong:**

Everyone looked at Dionysus.

"What?"

Zeus shook his head. "At least you haven't tried to run away, even if you insist on being insolent about your punishment like a three-year-old."

"Like you're so mature yourself?" asked Hera, glaring at him.

**Dear_****Peter Johnson****_, **

**If you intend to stay at Camp Half-Blood year-round, you must inform the Big House by noon today. If you do not announce your intentions, we will assume you have vacated your cabin or died a horrible death. **

Hazel laughed. "I can just imagine Bacchus – sorry, Dionysus – saying that in that cheerful way of his. He'd probably be thrilled about your horrible death, Perce."

"Yes, in fact I would, Hattie Levine."

"_Hazel Levesque_," snapped Hazel, and then her eyes got wide. "Sorry, Lord Bacchus, I'm sorry. It's just that I'm touchy about my name."

Dionysus rolled his eyes. "Whatever, child." He took a gulp of his drink, mindful of his father's watchful eye.

**Cleaning harpies will begin work at sundown. They will be authorized to eat any unregistered campers. All personal articles left behind will be incinerated in the lava pit. **

"Isn't that a bit… harsh?" asked Reyna, aware of the hypocrisy of her use of the word harsh. After all, Romans were not exactly known to be gentle.

**Have a nice day!**

**Mr. D (Dionysus)**

**Camp Director, Olympian Council #12**

**That's another thing about ADHD. Deadlines just aren't real to me until I'm staring one in the face. **

"It kind of sucks," Frank agreed.

"Procrastination is our station," Travis added, to odd looks. "What?"

"You're a poet and you don't even know it!" shouted Connor gleefully.

**Summer was over, and I still hadn't answered my mother, or the camp, about whether I'd be staying. Now I had only a few hours to decide.**

**The decision should have been easy. I mean, nine months of hero training or nine months of sitting in a classroom–duh.**

"At least either way you'd be learning," Hephaestus pointed out.

Leo frowned. "But a _classroom_? Serious ADHD damage control needs to be done in those things."

**But there was my mom to consider. For the first time, I had the chance to live with her for a whole year, without Gabe. **

"That _does_ sound pretty appealing," Demeter sympathized.

**I had a chance be at home and knock around the city in my free time. I remembered what Annabeth had said so long ago on our quest: **_**The real world is where the monsters are. That's where you learn whether you're any good or not.**_

"Wise as always, daughter," Athena complimented.

Annabeth shifted uncomfortably. "Thanks, Mom."

**I thought about the fate of Thalia, daughter of Zeus. **

Daughter and father both winced.

"Being a tree was _not_ pleasant," disclosed Thalia.

"Sorry, daughter," murmured Zeus.

Thalia gaped, as did the others.

"Did you just say… _sorry_?" demanded Hera, wide-eyed.

**I wondered how many monsters would attack me if I left Half-Blood Hill. **

Poseidon grimaced. "Probably a lot. With your ancestry, you would most likely emit a stench smellier than Apollo's gym socks. To monsters, anyway."

"Uncle P, that hit somewhere deep!" Apollo gasped dramatically, clapping a hand to his chest.

**If I stayed in one place for a whole school year, without Chiron or my friends around to help me, would my mother and I even survive until the next summer? That was assuming the spelling tests and five-paragraph essays didn't kill me. **

"Ooh, double attack," Hermes commented, breaking off of the text. "Mortal school seriously needs some redoing."

"_Serious_ redoing," agreed Percy. "Like more high-tech stuff, no homework, no tests, players that can read the books to you… that would be demigod heaven."

Annabeth frowned. "You don't get excited by a new book in your hands and the swimming black letters?" Her frown disappeared into a grin. "Just kidding. But seriously. I'd much rather have paper books than some audiotape or electronic reader."

**I decided I'd go down to the arena and do some sword practice. Maybe that would clear my head.**

**The campgrounds were mostly deserted, shimmering in the August heat. All the campers were in their cabins packing up, or running around with brooms and mops, getting ready for final inspection. Argus was helping some of the Aphrodite kids haul their Gucci suitcases **

Aphrodite squealed. "Oh, my children have such good taste! Gucci makes the _best_ suitcases!"

Piper looked disgusted. "What's wrong with just a brand from Macy's, Mom? They're probably more durable and long-lasting, _plus_ they cost about a thousand dollars less."

"Oh, Piper. You have so much to learn. Don't worry, sugar. One day, we'll go shopping together, and I will introduce you to the glorious world of brand names!"

"I look forward to it," Piper responded sarcastically.

**and makeup kits over the hill, where the camp's shuttle bus would be waiting to take them to the airport.**

**Don't think about leaving yet, I told myself. Just train.**

"Blocking things out always helps," encouraged Hestia, "if even for just a little while."

Percy nodded, smiling gratefully at the kind goddess.

"Kind of like sleep," added Frank, sounding wise. "Dreams, when not plagued by evil Titans and the like, are so much better than reality."

**I got to the sword-fighters arena and found that Luke had had the same idea. His gym bag was plopped at the edge of the stage. He was working solo, whaling on battle dummies with a sword I'd never seen before. It must've been a regular steel blade, because he was slashing the dummies' heads right off, stabbing through their straw-stuffed guts. **

"That doesn't sound gory at all," Demeter remarked, wincing.

Hermes smiled proudly. "That's my boy, the best swordsman to go to Camp Half-Blood in three hundred years."

"Yeah, yeah, you can stop bragging and start reading," Apollo told him.

**His orange counselor's shirt was dripping with sweat. **

"Is it ironic that Camp Jupiter's T-shirts are orange and our counselors' shirts are orange?" asked Piper. "Ironic at all?"

"I've never thought of that," Jason said, surprised. "You're right."

**His expression was so intense, his life might've really been in danger. I watched, fascinated, as he disemboweled the whole row of dummies, hacking off limbs and basically reducing them to a pile of straw and armor. They were only dummies, but I still couldn't help being awed by Luke's skill. The guy was an incredible fighter. It made me wonder, again, how he possibly could've failed at his quest.**

Hermes sighed, feeling pity for his son. "He never should have failed that quest. He had it in the bag."

**Finally, he saw me, and stopped mid-swing. "Percy."**

"**Um, sorry" I said, embarrassed. "I just-"**

"Excuses," teased Annabeth, seemingly having regained some mental power. Thalia smiled at that, rubbing her arm soothingly.

"**It's okay," he said, lowering his sword. "Just doing some last-minute practice."**

"**Those dummies won't be bothering anybody anymore."**

"Making jokes as usual," remarked Nico, chuckling. "You could be seconds from death, Perce, and still joke about it."

Percy shrugged, laughing. "What can I say? I'm skilled."

"And modest," Annabeth said sarcastically, smiling at him.

"A package deal," confirmed Percy, chuckling again.

**Luke shrugged. "We build new ones every summer."**

"That's a _lot_ of dummies," commented Leo. "I want one!"

"You'd probably wire it up and create the world's first straw-stuffed robot," teased Piper.

"You know it, beauty queen," retorted Leo cheekily.

"Whatever you say, repair boy."

**Now that his sword wasn't swirling around, I could see something odd about it. The blade was two different types of metal–one edge bronze, the other steel.**

Poseidon's eyes widened. "You're lucky he's not out to attack you, son. That's a dangerous sword, very dangerous. He could kill you with one slash."

Percy winced, choosing not to comment.

**Luke noticed me looking at it. "Oh, this? New toy. This is Backbiter."**

"**Backbiter?"**

Athena raised her eyebrow at the name. "Backbiter? Sounds pretty symbolic."

Rachel chuckled tensely. "You could take over for me, Lady Athena. You're more cryptic than I am."

The Wisdom Goddess barely gave her a smile of acknowledgement. Instead, she retreated into thought.

"Don't take it personally," Annabeth assured her friend, smiling tensely. Her head dropped back onto her boyfriend's shoulder.

**Luke turned the blade in the light so it glinted wickedly. "One side is celestial bronze. The other is tempered steel. Works on mortals and immortals both."**

"That's horrible," murmured Hestia, mindful of keeping her voice low so as to not let Hermes hear of his aunt's temporary disapproval of his favorite son.

**I thought about what Chiron had told me when I started my quest–that a hero should never harm mortals unless absolutely necessary.**

"**I didn't know they could make weapons like that."**

"**They probably can't," Luke agreed. "It's one of a kind."**

**He gave me a tiny smile, then slid the sword into its scabbard. **

Several relieved breaths were let out, and Hermes, unable to locate their releasers, looked around, offended. "Did you really think my son, my pride and joy, would try to kill Percy then and there?"

There was no response, so Hermes returned to the book, slightly angry.

"**Listen, I was going to come looking for you. What do you say we go down to the woods one last time, look for something to fight?"**

**I don't know why I hesitated. I should've felt relieved that Luke was being so friendly. Ever since I'd gotten back from the quest, he'd been acting a little distant. **

"Maybe because he was gearing up to betray all his friends and admirers," Thalia said lowly and slightly angrily. Luckily, almost no one heard her, except for her two cousins and Annabeth, who shivered slightly.

**I was afraid he might resent me for all the attention I'd gotten. **

Hermes smiled, pausing his reading. "Luke's not that kind of person. He's a good boy, always seeing the best in people. I expect he got it from his mother."

"Yeah, because you always seek the _worst_ in people," Apollo teased his half-brother.

Rolling his eyes, Hermes returned the book, unaware of the older Greek demigods' sad expressions, seeing the world of good Hermes believed his son to possess.

"**You think that's a good idea?" I asked. "I mean-"**

"Trying to get out of it?" Hades teased his nephew.

"You're not scared, are you?" Ares taunted.

Hades frowned. "That's not what I was going for, Ares."

"Oh, be quiet, both of you. Hermes, continue, please," Persephone placated.

"**Aw, come on." He rummaged in his gym bag and pulled out a six-pack of Cokes. "Drinks are on me."**

Travis, Connor, and Leo stared at the book, nearly drooling.

"Cokes? _Real_ Cokes?" demanded Travis, pretending to faint.

"Those are _such_ a rarity…" Leo had gone starry-eyed.

"Why didn't he offer any to us?" Connor sounded slightly hurt.

"I'm sure he has enough to share with your whole cabin, son," Hermes mollified his neglected child. "Luke always was a sharer."

**I stared at the Cokes, wondering where the heck he'd gotten them. There were no regular mortal sodas at the camp store. No way to smuggle them in unless you talked to a satyr, maybe.**

Hephaestus frowned. "What about the magic goblets?"

"He explains it in the next line," Hermes informed him, and continued to read.

**Of course, the magic dinner goblets would fill with anything you want, but it just didn't taste the same as a real Coke, straight out of the can.**

**Sugar and caffeine. My willpower crumbled. **

Demeter looked faintly disapproving. "How unhealthy. And even worse to have your willpower crumble because of those wretched things."

"**Sure," I decided. "Why not?"**

**We walked down to the woods and kicked around for some kind of monster to fight, but it was too hot. All the monsters with any sense must've been taking siestas in their nice cool caves.**

Snorts were elicited by this comment.

"What? They probably were. Hot days aren't a very good day to get killed," Leo remarked, backing Percy up.

"Exactly!" Percy exclaimed, high-fiving the son of Hephaestus. "Thank you!"

**We found a shady spot by the creek where I'd broken Clarisse's spear during my first capture the flag game. We sat on a big rock, drank our Cokes, and watched the sunlight in the woods.**

**After a while Luke said, "You miss being on a quest?"**

"**With monsters attacking me every three feet? Are you kidding?"**

Jason raised his eyebrows. "You didn't get the thrill of adrenaline?"

Percy rolled his eyes. "Patience, son of Jupiter, patience," he said, an air of false mystique in his voice.

"Weirdo," commented Connor conversationally.

"And you aren't?" replied Percy, laughing.

**Luke raised an eyebrow.**

"**Yeah, I miss it," I admitted. **

"Oh," said Jason.

"**You?"**

**A shadow passed over his face.**

Hermes paused, frowning slightly. "It's a sensitive subject, Percy," he scolded lightly, thinking only of his son's happiness.

Hestia grinned at this, happy that some of her family had their priorities in order.

Silence from the demigods.

**I was used to hearing from the girls how good-looking Luke was, but at the moment, he looked weary, and angry, and not at all handsome.**

"Luke? Not handsome?" gasped Travis quietly, so his father wouldn't hear.

"You checking him out?" teased Jason to Percy, who shrugged.

"Nope." His answer was so simple, no one teased any further.

**His blond hair was gray in the sunlight. The scar on his face looked deeper than usual. I could imagine him as an old man.**

"That's interesting," murmured Hermes, pausing yet again as he glanced at Percy. "My boy, an old man?"

"It's bound to happen," Persephone soothed her half-brother.

"Yes, but isn't it a bit early to be able to picture him as one?" snapped Hermes, and turned back to the book so quickly, he didn't catch the brief hurt look flash across Persephone's face.

"**I've lived at Half-Blood Hill year-round since I was fourteen," he told me. "Ever since Thalia... well, you know. I trained, and trained, and trained. I never got to be a normal teenager, out there in the real world. Then they threw me one quest, and when I came back, it was like, 'Okay, ride's over. Have a nice life.'"**

**He crumpled his Coke can and threw into the creek, which really shocked me. One of the first things you learn at Camp Half-Blood is: Don't litter. You'll hear from the nymphs and the naiads. They'll get even. You'll crawl into bed one night and find your sheets filled with centipedes and mud.**

Travis shuddered. "Yes they do."

"Aw, the great Travis Stoll intimidated?" teased Katie.

"**The heck with laurel wreaths," Luke said. "I'm not going to end up like those dusty trophies in the Big House attic."**

"**You make it sound like you're leaving."**

**Luke gave me a twisted smile. "Oh, I'm leaving, all right, Percy. I brought you down here to say good-bye."**

Poseidon tensed, raising an eyebrow skeptically. "That sounds ominous."

Hermes tsked. "Don't worry, Uncle P. My kid won't hurt yours."

**He snapped his fingers. A small fire burned a hole in the ground at my feet. Out crawled something glistening black, about the size of my hand. A scorpion.**

Poseidon shot straight up, glaring at Hermes. "A _scorpion_? What kind of pets does your kid keep? It better not hurt Percy, or I swear…"

"It's just a pet," Hermes soothed his uncle before continuing.

"Just a pet. Right," muttered Percy, but he was silenced by Annabeth's hand.

**I started to go for my pen.**

"**I wouldn't," Luke cautioned. "Pit scorpions can jump up to fifteen feet. Its stinger can pierce right through your clothes. You'll be dead in sixty seconds."**

"He's going to let it get him?" demanded Hera, also stick-straight. "He's going to stand by while Percy is _killed_?"

Athena's eyes darkened and the demigods knew she had figured it out. "No," she breathed.

"What?" Poseidon asked sharply, on edge.

His niece simply shook her head silently, grey eyes wide.

"**Luke, what-"**

**Then it hit me.**

_**You will be betrayed by one who calls you a friend.**_

Hermes stopped abruptly, shaking his head sharply and viciously. "You've got it wrong, Percy. Luke would never betray you. He's too good a friend."

"I thought the same thing," Thalia said bitterly and snappishly.

"And he _is_ standing by while a scorpion will likely kill the boy," Demeter pointed out uncertainly.

"The boy is right there. As far as I can see, he's alive and well," Hermes shot back. "Don't be so quick to shoot down my son."

"But-"

Percy shook his head, cutting off any further discussion. "Just listen. And Hermes… if you need to, you can always pass off the book to someone else."

"**You," I said.**

**He stood calmly and brushed off his jeans.**

"CALMLY?" demanded Poseidon, on the verge of leaping off of his throne. "My son _could_ be killed, and he's so casual? Are you sure this is the same golden boy we've heard mooning about from Hermes for the past few years?"

"Yes," Hermes snapped, always loyal to his children. "Now may I please read?" Any trace of playfulness was gone, not only in his voice, but also in the room. The tension was high, and no one wanted to set another person off.

**The scorpion paid him no attention. It kept its beady black eyes on me, clamping its pincers as it crawled onto my shoe.**

Poseidon was as stiff as a board, his eyes never wavering from Hermes, and his breath coming in and out in short, tense spurts.

Hestia laid a soothing hand on her brother's arm, hoping to keep the calm for as long as possible.

"**I saw a lot out there in the world, Percy," Luke said. "Didn't you feel it–the darkness gathering, the monsters growing stronger? Didn't you realize how useless it all is? All the heroics–being pawns of the gods. They should've been overthrown thousands of years ago, but they've hung on, thanks to us half-bloods."**

Zeus growled. "Your son is getting into hot water, Hermes."

"And he's trying to turn you against the gods," remarked Reyna, catching onto the 'pawns' comment. "You won't get sucked in, will you?"

Percy just shrugged. "There are four books after this," he reminded her, not giving a straight answer.

**I couldn't believe this was happening.**

"**Luke... you're talking about our parents," I said.**

**He laughed. "That's supposed to make me love them? **

Hermes winced, the implication ringing clear in his ears. Luke didn't love him?

Sensing his half-brother's pain, Apollo offered, "Would you like me to read?"

Hermes shook him off, reading on with a strong voice to mask the sharp hurt that the last line had driven into him.

**Their precious 'Western civilization' is a disease, Percy. It's killing the world. The only way to stop it is to burn it to the ground, start over with something more honest."**

"HE WANTS TO BURN US TO THE GROUND?" demanded Zeus angrily, rising. "Your son is either immensely stupid or brainwashed, Hermes. It doesn't matter which, though. If he makes a move, I swear he'll be thrown into Tartarus."

Hermes looked desperate. "Father-"

"Leave him be, Zeus," murmured Hestia quietly. "He's hurting. Don't make it worse. He knows Luke is doing wrong."

"**You're as crazy as Ares."**

"I resent that comment," Ares muttered half-heartedly.

**His eyes flared. "Ares is a fool. **

"Hey! I resent that comment more!" Ares exploded, glaring at Hermes. "Your son is _really_ stupid to be pissing off the gods like that."

"This is the one and only time I will ever agree with Ares," Percy muttered to his friends, none of which could even muster up an appreciative or agreeing smile as a result of the tension.

**He never realized the true master he was serving. If I had time, Percy, I could explain. But I'm afraid you won't live that long."**

**The scorpion crawled onto my pants leg.**

**There had to be a way out of this. I needed time to think.**

"**Kronos," I said. "That's who you serve."**

Silence reigned. Hermes had stopped reading. It seemed to take a while for this comment to sink in and process, because moments later, his hands went slack, the book dropping. So did his head, into his hands.

No one spoke for several more minutes, leaving Hermes to digest this in peace and quiet. Finally, Apollo rose from his throne, an uncharacteristically solemn expression locked in place as he gently tugged his half-brother to his feet. Silently, they exited the throne room. Wordlessly, Demeter plucked up the book and continued in a subdued voice from where Hermes had left off.

**The air got colder.**

"**You should be careful with names," Luke warned.**

"He doesn't deny it," Hestia commented sadly. "Good thing Apollo brought Hermes out."

"**Kronos got you to steal the master bolt and the helm. He spoke to you in your dreams."**

**Luke's eye twitched. "He spoke to you, too, Percy. You should've listened."**

"No!" burst out Athena, to many a person's surprise. She blushed and toned down her volume. "Sorry. But it's good that you didn't, Jackson. The bad guys always lose." Her voice was wise.

"The winners always write the history books," replied Poseidon cryptically.

"**He's brainwashing you, Luke."**

"**You're wrong. He showed me that my talents are being wasted. You know what my quest was two years ago, Percy? My father, Hermes, wanted me to steal a golden apple from the Garden of the Hesperides and return it to Olympus. After all the training I'd done, that was the best he could think up."**

"That's no small feat," Hephaestus remarked, raising his eyebrows.

"And if it was so easy, how exactly did he fail?" Aphrodite pointed out.

"It's a _really_ good thing Hermes isn't here," Hestia repeated under her breath.

"**That's not an easy quest," I said. "Hercules did it."**

"**Exactly," Luke said. "Where's the glory in repeating what others have done? All the gods know how to do is replay their past. My heart wasn't in it. The dragon in the garden gave me this"–he pointed angrily at his scar–"and when I came back, all I got was pity. **

"He quit because it ruined his pretty face?" asked Octavian in disbelief, snorting.

This time, no one argued, because in their minds, it wasn't completely untrue.

**I wanted to pull Olympus down stone by stone right then, but I bided my time.**

"He is so irrational!" exploded Demeter, dropping the book in her expression of frustration. "Cereal!"

**I began to dream of Kronos. He convinced me to steal something worthwhile, something no hero had ever had the courage to take. When we went on that winter-solstice field trip, while the other campers were asleep, I snuck into the throne room and took Zeus's master bolt right from his chair. Hades's helm of darkness, too. You wouldn't believe how easy it was. The Olympians are so arrogant; they never dreamed someone would dare steal from them. **

Zeus narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Is that so? He's clearly never felt our wrath, then."

**Their security is horrible. **

"I'd advise you on upping security," Hera told her husband, stating the obvious.

"Yes, yes, of course." Zeus was so distracted, he didn't even comment on the first time thing: his wife advising him on politic-related facts.

**I was halfway across New Jersey before I heard the storms rumbling, and I knew they'd discovered my theft."**

**The scorpion was sitting on my knee now, staring at me with its glittering eyes. I tried to keep my voice level. "So why didn't you bring the items to Kronos?"**

"Very good question!" Jason complimented.

**Luke's smile wavered. "I... I got overconfident. Zeus sent out his sons and daughters to find the stolen bolt–Artemis, Apollo, my father, Hermes. But it was Ares who caught me. **

Ares winced. Wonderful. More bashing.

"Kronos must be pretty powerful," Athena observed slowly. "Good thing you brought back the books. Now we'll be more prepared."

"I think that was the point," agreed Annabeth, smiling weakly.

**I could have beaten him, but I wasn't careful enough. **

"And _we're_ overly arrogant?" demanded Ares. "That punk did _not_ just say he could beat _me_. The God of War, beaten by Luke? Ha!" He snorted.

**He disarmed me, took the items of power, threatened to return them to Olympus and burn me alive. Then Kronos's voice came to me and told me what to say. I put the idea in Ares's head about a great war between the gods. I said all he had to do was hide the items away for a while and watch the others fight. Ares got a wicked gleam in his eyes. I knew he was hooked. He let me go, **

Ares nearly shrank back from the deathly glares the other Olympians and even some of the demigods were delightfully granting him with. "Sorry?" he squeaked.

**and I returned to Olympus before anyone noticed my absence." Luke drew his new sword. He ran his thumb down the flat of the blade, as if he were hypnotized by its beauty. "Afterward, the Lord of the Titans... h-he punished me with nightmares. **

"He deserves it," spat Poseidon bitterly, remembering the scorpion currently residing on his son's leg.

**I swore not to fail again. Back at Camp Half-Blood, in my dreams, I was told that a second hero would arrive, one who could be tricked into taking the bolt and the helm the rest of the way–from Ares down to Tartarus."**

Percy winced, feeling the weight of his gullibility fully on his shoulders.

"It wasn't your fault," murmured Annabeth, mollifying him.

"**You summoned the hellhound, that night in the forest."**

"**We had to make Chiron think the camp wasn't safe for you, so he would start you on your quest. We had to confirm his fears that Hades was after you. And it worked."**

"**The flying shoes were cursed," I said. "They were supposed to drag me and the backpack into Tartarus."**

"Thank the gods you're a son of the Sea God, then," Hazel breathed, looking at Percy in a whole new light. "Otherwise, you wouldn't have been apprehensive of the air, and you would have worn them."

Percy nodded shortly, smiling weakly at her.

"**And they would have, if you'd been wearing them. But you gave them to the satyr, which wasn't part of the plan. Grover messes up everything he touches. He even confused the curse."**

"No he doesn't!" burst out Thalia. "He saved Percy's life! Just shut the Hades up, Luke!"

This time, Hades didn't comment on the use of his name in place of a swear.

**Luke looked down at the scorpion, which was now sitting on my thigh. "You should have died in Tartarus, Percy. But don't worry, I'll leave you with my little friend to set things right."**

"Isn't that cheerful?" asked Hephaestus sarcastically.

"Cheery as Hermes in the morning," Artemis responded, cracking a smile.

"**Thalia gave her life to save you," I said, gritting my teeth. "And this is how you repay her?"**

"Oh, Percy." Thalia scrunched up her face.

"**Don't speak of Thalia!" he shouted. "The gods **_**let**_** her die! That's one of the many things they will pay for."**

"No, Luke," pleaded Thalia to the book. "You won't make them pay for anything. It was my choice!"

Annabeth wrapped her in a hug, and they clung to each other for support.

"**You're being used, Luke. You and Ares both. Don't listen to Kronos."**

"**I've been used?" Luke's voice turned shrill. "Look at yourself. What has your dad ever done for you? **

"What has Kronos ever done for him?" queried Athena cleverly, raising an eyebrow.

"Exactly," Artemis agreed.

**Kronos will rise. You've only delayed his plans. He will cast the Olympians into Tartarus and drive humanity back to their caves. All except the strongest–the ones who serve him."**

"He _is_ brainwashed," sighed Hera. "Poor boy."

"**Call off the bug," I said. "If you're so strong, fight me yourself."**

**Luke smiled. "Nice try, Percy. But I'm not Ares. You can't bait me. My lord is waiting, and he's got plenty of quests for me to undertake."**

"**Luke-"**

"**Good-bye, Percy. There is a new Golden Age coming. You won't be part of it."**

"The Hades he won't," growled Poseidon.

**He slashed his sword in an arc and disappeared in a ripple of darkness. **

"Looks like someone could take your position as the most dramatic," Hera told Zeus, trying to lessen the tension.

Zeus just grunted.

**The scorpion lunged.**

"Oh gods of Olympus," gasped Frank, following the others in being stiff and tense, staring at Demeter, who read on in a slightly shakier voice.

**I swatted it away with my hand **

"No," moaned Poseidon. "You might kill it, son, but it got you. How are you still alive?"

**and uncapped my sword. The thing jumped at me and I cut it in half in midair.**

Many silently cheered, but they knew Poseidon was right. The poison would have already done some damage, if not too much damage.

**I was about to congratulate myself until I looked down at my hand. My palm had a huge red welt, oozing and smoking with yellow guck. The thing had gotten me after all. **

"Disgusting," murmured Aphrodite.

"That," Percy assured her, "was _not_ my first concern. At all."

**My ears pounded. My vision went foggy. The water, I thought. It healed me before.**

All eyes swung to Poseidon, who looked pained. "This is pit scorpion poison. I don't think the water is strong enough to heal such a vicious sort of poison. I really don't. But you're okay!"

"I am. Don't be guilty," Percy told his dad.

**I stumbled to the creek and submerged my hand, but nothing seemed to happen. The poison was too strong. My vision was getting dark. I could barely stand up.**

_**Sixty seconds**_**, Luke had told me.**

Reyna glanced at her co-praetor. "I can't believe you survived that, Percy."

"Honestly? I can't either. With what has happened since I was twelve, I really don't know how I'm still alive," joked Percy, laughing, even as there was an undertone of seriousness to his voice.

**I had to get back to camp. If I collapsed out here, my body would be dinner for a monster. Nobody would ever know what had happened.**

"And Luke could get away unscathed," Hephaestus added, voicing aloud what the others were thinking.

Percy nodded slowly, his emotions conflicting.

**My legs felt like lead. My forehead was burning. I stumbled toward the camp, and the nymphs stirred from their trees.**

"**Help," I croaked. "Please..."**

**Two of them took my arms, pulling me along. I remember making it to the clearing, a counselor shouting for help, a centaur blowing a conch horn. **

Poseidon breathed out in relief, sagging against the back of his throne. "Thank the Fates," he murmured. "Chiron. You'll be fine."

**Then everything went black.**

"That seems to be authors' favorite line," remarked Artemis wryly. "It's used quite often, a cliché, almost."

Athena grinned. "Clichés are clichés for a reason."

**I woke with a drinking straw in my mouth. I was sipping something that tasted like liquid chocolate-chip cookies. **

"Chocolate chip cookies should come in every form," declared Travis.

"It can come in frozen form: ice cream. It can come in solid form: cookies. Just liquid form," agreed Leo. "That would be sick!"

**Nectar.**

**I opened my eyes.**

**I was propped up in bed in the sickroom of the Big House, my right hand bandaged like a club. Argus stood guard in the corner. Annabeth sat next to me, holding my nectar glass and dabbing a washcloth on my forehead.**

Aphrodite swooned, beaming. "Ah, young love."

"Déjà vu much?" Piper asked, ignoring her mother.

"**Here we are again," I said.**

"**You idiot," Annabeth said, which is how I knew she was overjoyed to see me conscious. **

"You sure have a queer way of showing it," observed Hazel.

"Queer?" repeated Connor.

"Weird, Stoll, weird," clarified Katie, rolling her eyes. "How did you ever pass kindergarten?"

"I'm pretty sure they don't learn the word _queer_ in kindergarten," Travis jumped in, defending his brother.

Katie raised an eyebrow. "Seventh grade, then."

"**You were green and turning gray when we found you. If it weren't for Chiron's healing..."**

"**Now, now," Chiron's voice said. "Percy's constitution deserves some of the credit."**

"Always the modest one, the horse," Dionysus chuckled. "Such a goody-goody."

"Unlike you, apparently," Zeus snapped at his son.

**He was sitting near the foot of my bed in human form, which was why I hadn't noticed him yet. His lower half was magically compacted into the wheelchair, his upper half dressed in a coat and tie. He smiled, but his face looked weary and pale, the way it did when he'd been up all night grading Latin papers.**

"That must be pretty boring," remarked Jason.

"**How are you feeling?" he asked.**

"**Like my insides have been frozen, then microwaved."**

"That's… pleasant," Rachel commented sarcastically.

"I assure you it was," responded Percy, smiling. "The best experience of my life, hands down."

"**Apt, considering that was pit scorpion venom. Now you must tell me, if you can, exactly what happened."**

**Between sips of nectar, I told them the story.**

**The room was quiet for a long time.**

"**I can't believe that Luke..." Annabeth's voice faltered. Her expression turned angry and sad. "Yes. Yes, I can believe it. May the gods curse him... He was never the same after his quest."**

Demeter stopped. Everyone looked toward the throne room doors. They were all thinking the same thing. Good thing Hermes wasn't in there, because it would have broken him to hear one of his son's first friends asking the gods to curse him.

"**This must be reported to Olympus," Chiron murmured. "I will go at once."**

"And leave him to stall? Percy's not going to like that," predicted Nico.

"**Luke is out there right now," I said. "I have to go after him."**

"You were right," Hazel said to her brother, unable to hide some surprise.

"I know the kid too, you know," responded Nico, chuckling slightly.

"Kid? I'm older than you, _kid_," Percy returned to Nico, laughing.

**Chiron shook his head. "No, Percy. The gods-"**

"**Won't even talk about Kronos," I snapped. "Zeus declared the matter closed!"**

"**Percy, I know this is hard. But you must not rush out for vengeance. You aren't ready."**

"He's right, son. You just got attacked by a pit scorpion. You're definitely not in any condition to fight at all," Poseidon chastised.

"I know, Dad."

**I didn't like it, but part of me suspected Chiron was right. One look at my hand, and I knew I wasn't going to be sword fighting any time soon. "Chiron... your prophecy from the Oracle... it was about Kronos, wasn't it? Was I in it? And Annabeth?"**

"You never were very tactful," sighed Annabeth, remembering that incident. "Can't you imagine that it was a touchy subject?"

Percy shrugged. "I was a twelve-year-old male, and twelve-year-old males are idiots."

Annabeth looked at him, smiling. "Yup, they are. Thirteen-year-old males, too. And fourteen, and fifteen…"

"Okay, okay, we get the point. We're idiots," Percy cut her off, chuckling and kissing her. "But you love my idiocy."

**Chiron glanced nervously at the ceiling. "Percy, it isn't my place-"**

"**You've been ordered not to talk to me about it, haven't you?"**

**His eyes were sympathetic, but sad. "You will be a great hero, child. I will do my best to prepare you. But if I'm right about the path ahead of you..."**

**Thunder boomed overhead, rattling the windows.**

"**All right!" Chiron shouted. "Fine!"**

**He sighed in frustration. "The gods have their reasons, Percy. Knowing too much of your future is never a good thing."**

"It can seriously screw you up," agreed Leo.

"I think you're already screwed up beyond being able to be screwed up even more, repair boy," teased Piper.

"Oh, shut up, beauty queen."

"She's right though. You're pretty screwy in the head," Jason joined in, laughing.

"You too, lightning boy!"

"**We can't just sit back and do nothing," I said.**

"_**We**_** will not sit back," Chiron promised. "But you must be careful. Kronos wants you to come unraveled. He wants your life disrupted, your thoughts clouded with fear and anger. Do not give him what he wants. Train patiently. Your time will come."**

Looking troubled, Poseidon advised, "You should listen to him, Percy. The centaur has seen many a hero fall, but also plenty rise. He knows what he's doing."

"I know," murmured Percy quietly.

"**Assuming I live that long."**

**Chiron put his hand on my ankle. "You'll have to trust me, Percy. You will live. But first you must decide your path for the coming year. I cannot tell you the right choice..." I got the feeling that he had a very definite opinion, and it was taking all his willpower not to advise me. "But you must decide whether to stay at Camp Half-Blood year-round, or return to the mortal world for seventh grade and be a summer camper. Think on that. When I get back from Olympus, you must tell me your decision."**

"More decisions," Percy groaned. "I hate decisions."

"We all do," agreed Will.

**I wanted to protest. I wanted to ask him more questions. But his expression told me there could be no more discussion; he had said as much as he could.**

"I hate godly restrictions," grumbled Nico, careful to keep his voice low so that only his fellow demigods could hear, and they all made nearly inaudible noises of agreement.

"**I'll be back as soon as I can," Chiron promised. "Argus will watch over you."**

At the mention of Argus, Aphrodite shuddered. "All those eyes… that description really disturbs me."

"In person, it's kind of even more grotesque," Piper assured her mother, sounding gleeful at possibly disgusting the goddess even further.

To her delight, Aphrodite shuddered again, turning away and seemingly trying to erase the mental image from her mind.

**He glanced at Annabeth. "Oh, and, my dear... whenever you're ready, they're here."**

"**Who's here?" I asked.**

**Nobody answered.**

Percy chuckled. "Back to the old 'better keep Percy in the dark' mindset, I see."

**Chiron rolled himself out of the room. I heard the wheels of his chair clunk carefully down the front steps, two at a time. **

**Annabeth studied the ice in my drink.**

"**What's wrong?" I asked her.**

"**Nothing." She set the glass on the table. "I... just took your advice about something. You... um... need anything?"**

"Something's definitely wrong," Thalia deducted. "Annabeth _never_ stutters."

Annabeth blushed, ducking her head as she remembered.

"**Yeah. Help me up. I want to go outside."**

"**Percy, that isn't a good idea."**

"Not a good idea at all, son," cautioned Poseidon, looking worried.

**I slid my legs out of bed. Annabeth caught me before I could crumple to the floor. A wave of nausea rolled over me. **

**Annabeth said, "I told you..."**

"**I'm fine," I insisted. I didn't want to lie in bed like an invalid while Luke was out there planning to destroy the Western world.**

"That would be preferable," nodded Frank.

**I managed a step forward. Then another, still leaning heavily on Annabeth. Argus followed us outside, but he kept his distance. **

"Stop mentioning him," Aphrodite moaned. "I _just_ got that image out of my head… oh, ew…"

**By the time we reached the porch, my face was beaded with sweat. My stomach had twisted into knots. But I had managed to make it all the way to the railing.**

**It was dusk. The camp looked completely deserted. The cabins were dark and the volleyball pit silent. No canoes cut the surface of the lake. Beyond the woods and the strawberry fields, the Long Island Sound glittered in the last light of the sun.**

"It's like a very pretty ghost town," chuckled Leo.

"It wasn't funny," frowned Percy. "It was kind of disturbing, actually. A place usually so filled with life… _gone_. I sound cheesy, but whatever."

"**What are you going to do?" Annabeth asked me.**

"**I don't know."**

**I told her I got the feeling Chiron wanted me to stay year-round, to put in more individual training time, but I wasn't sure that's what I wanted. I admitted I'd feel bad about leaving her alone, though, with only Clarisse for company...**

**Annabeth pursed her lips, then said quietly, "I'm going home for the year, Percy."**

Athena sat up straight. "Home?" she echoed, eyes wide as they alighted on her daughter.

Annabeth smiled slightly. "Yes. To Dad's."

A smile spread on Athena's face. "That's wonderful," she breathed.

**I stared at her. "You mean, to your dad's?"**

**She pointed toward the crest of Half-Blood Hill. Next to Thalia's pine tree, at the very edge of the camp's magical boundaries, a family stood silhouetted–two little children, a woman, and a tall man with blond hair. They seemed to be waiting. The man was holding a backpack that looked like the one Annabeth had gotten from Waterland in Denver. **

A sad smile replaced the happy one on Athena's face. "That must have hurt, Annabeth." The end of the sentence went up, like she was asking a question.

Annabeth nodded ever so slightly. "He seemed so happy, even though I, his daughter, wasn't there with him…" Her voice trailed off sadly, and Percy hugged her tightly.

"**I wrote him a letter when we got back," Annabeth said. "Just like you suggested. I told him... I was sorry. I'd come home for the school year if he still wanted me. He wrote back immediately. We decided... we'd give it another try."**

"That's awesome, Annabeth," Hazel complimented, her eyes twinkling with warmth and sincerity.

Annabeth looked surprised, but she replied uncertainly, "Thanks."

"**That took guts."**

**She pursed her lips. "You won't try anything stupid during the school year, will you? At least... not without sending me an Iris-message?"**

"You really shouldn't give him permission to get into trouble," chuckled Thalia.

"I know, but I wasn't in my right mind, I guess," laughed Annabeth in return."

**I managed a smile. "I won't go looking for trouble. I usually don't have to."**

"**When I get back next summer," she said, "we'll hunt down Luke. We'll ask for a quest, but if we don't get approval, we'll sneak off and do it anyway. Agreed?"**

"**Sounds like a plan worthy of Athena."**

"That better not have been sarcasm," Athena warned the demigod.

"Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't," Percy responded under his breath cheekily. Athena didn't catch it clearly, but she narrowed her eyes anyway, making it quite clear that she was keeping an eye or two on him.

**She held out her hand. I shook it.**

"**Take care, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth told me. "Keep your eyes open."**

"**You too, Wise Girl."**

**I watched her walk up the hill and join her family. She gave her father an awkward hug and looked back at the valley one last time. She touched Thalia's pine tree, then allowed herself to be lead over the crest and into the mortal world.**

"Good luck," Athena told her daughter. "I take it that what happened is described in the books, so I shouldn't waste my breath in asking?"

Smiling at her mother's perceptiveness, Annabeth nodded in confirmation. "Yes."

**For the first time at camp, I felt truly alone. I looked out at Long Island Sound and I remembered my father saying, **_**The sea does not like to be restrained.**_

"Indeed it doesn't," said Poseidon, agreeing with his future self.

**I made my decision.**

**I wondered, if Poseidon were watching, would he approve of my choice?**

"**I'll be back next summer," I promised him. "I'll survive until then. After all, I am your son." **

Poseidon beamed, nodding. "Yes you are. And of course I would approve of your choice. I trust your judgment."

"Thank you, Dad."

"And clearly, you _did_ survive," Poseidon pointed out.

"Yup."

**I asked Argus to take me down to cabin three, so I could pack my bags for home. **

Demeter closed the book quietly, and the readers sat silently for a moment or two. Then Athena gently took the book from her aunt's hands, placing it under her throne and exchanging it for a brown book. She held it in her lap.

"Should we wait for Hermes and Apollo?" she asked softly, unsure.

Hestia sighed. "I don't think so, niece. They'll come in when Hermes is ready, I think. It would be best if we began this next book. Perhaps after the first chapter we could dine?"

Everyone agreed.

"Who wants the book first?" inquired Athena, glancing around.

"Yo, toss it over here!" shouted Leo, making his hands into a target.

Rolling her eyes, Athena chucked the book at him in an uncharacteristic fashion, and Leo caught it with a _thump_.

"Ouch!"

"You did ask for it," pointed out Annabeth.

"Yeah, but-"

Leo's retort was abruptly cut off by the all too familiar flash of dazzling white light.

x.o.x.o.x.

A/N: And that is the end! I can't believe it! Keep me on author alert for the first chapter of Sea of Monsters, REVIEW please, and thank you to all of you who have stayed with me since the beginning, middle, and even the end! I love you all! See you in the Sea of Monsters!


	28. AN - Sorry!

Hi everyone!

This isn't an update, unfortunately. But I don't know what I was thinking! Thank you to **Guest**__who brought it to my attention that Camp Jupiter shirts are PURPLE, not orange! What was I thinking? Sorry for the confusion and my momentary lapse! Thank you again to **Guest** for bringing that up!

Until the Sea of Monsters,

TrueLoveIs4ever


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